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Leonard S. Marcus


Leonard S. Marcus writes about writers of children’s books and their illustrators. His works include Randolph Caldecott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing, Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Work, and The Wand in the Wind: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife, picture-book artist and author Amy Schwartz, and their son Jacob.


Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom
Leonard S. Marcus has culled an exceptional collection of letters from the HarperCollins archives. The letters included here are representative of the brilliant correspondence that was instrumental in the creation of some of the most beloved books in the world today. Full of wit and humor, they are immensely entertaining, thought-provoking, and moving in their revelation of the devotion and high-voltage intellect of an incomparably gifted editor, mentor, and publishing visionary.

Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy
The thirteen interviews that compose this collection are full of insights from the authors of humorous books for young readers, including Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Christopher Paul Curtis, and others.

Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children's Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became An American Icon Along the Way
Celebrating the 65th anniversary of Golden Books, this book is a lively history of a company, a line of books, the groundbreaking writers and artists who created them, the clever mavericks who marketed and sold them, and the cultural landscape that surrounded them.

Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L'Engle in Many Voices
In Listening for Madeleine, the renowned literary historian and biographer Leonard S. Marcus reveals Madeleine L'Engle in all her complexity, through a series of incisive interviews with the people who knew her most intimately. Vivid reminiscences of family members, colleagues, and friends create a kaleidoscope of keen insights and snapshop moments that help readers to understand the many sides of this singularly fascinating woman.

Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened By the Moon
In this moving biography, Marcus portrays Brown's complex character and her tragic, seesaw life and her literary achievement and groundbreaking discoveries about small children's emotional needs.

Show Me a Story!: Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World's Most Celebrated Illustrators
Renowned children’s literature authority Leonard S. Marcus speaks with twenty-one of the world’s most celebrated authors and illustrators and asks about their childhood, their inspiration, their determination, their mentors, their creative choices, and more. Amplifying these richly entertaining and thought-provoking conversations are eighty-eight full-color plates revealing each illustrator’s artistic process from sketch to near-final artwork in fascinating, behind-the-scenes.

The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy
Interviews with 13 American and English authors of fantasy fiction discussing their lives, literary influences, work routines and their beliefs about the place of fantasy in literature and our lives. Includes a "reader" listing each author's major fantasy works.

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