Marcia Brown was born on July 13, 1918, in Rochester, New York. She studied painting, set design, puppetry, and printmaking at various schools, graduating from New York College for Teachers (now SUNY Albany) in 1940. For six years, Brown worked in the children’s department at the New York Public Library, reinforcing her desire to make picture books. She published her first book, The Little Carousel, in 1946 while working at the library.

Brown’s first award was Caldecott Honors for Stone Soup (1948), an old folktale Brown retold and illustrated. She won the Caldecott Medal three times, and received Caldecott Honors a total of six times. She also received the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, for Once a Mouse… (1961), and her book How, Hippo! (1969), the story of a baby hippo and a crocodile, was an American Library Association Notable Book.

Brown illustrated more than thirty books, most of which she either wrote or adapted. She loves folklore and illustrated a number of classic tales from around the world, including Puss in Boots (1952), Anasi, the Spider Man (1954), and The Flying Carpet (1956). Throughout her career, Brown used a wide variety of media, although her most distinctive illustrations are her colored woodblocks. In 1986, Brown published Lotus Seeds: Children, Pictures, and Books, a compilation of her essays and speeches, and her only book for adults. She lives on the West Coast.

Bibliography:

Heffernan, Mary Ann. “Marcia Brown.” In American Writers for Children Since 1960: Poets, Illustrators, and Nonfiction Authors, edited by Glenn Estes. Detroit: Gale Research, 1987.

Something About the Author, vol. 47.

The Marcia Brown papers consist of material for the book How, Hippo! (1969). The collection includes two illustrated dummies, a signed original woodblock print, and a carved wood block.

This collection is arranged in probable order of creation. It is housed in the same box as the Emma L. Brock notes and illustrations, the Louise Lee and Richard Floethe papers, and Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks dummy.

Publication Information:

Free Library of Philadelphia: Children's Literature Research Collection, February 2012

Finding Aid Author:

Finding aid prepared by Garrett Boos

Sponsor:

The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.

Access Restrictions:

This collection is open to researchers by appointment; please contact the Curator for information.

Use Restrictions:

The right of access to material does not imply the right of publication. Permission for reprinting, reproduction, or extensive quotation from the rare books, manuscripts, prints, or drawings must be obtained through written application, stating the use to be made of the material. The reader bears the responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of such material. A reproduction fee will be charged if the material is to be reproduced in a commercial publication.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Gift of Marcia Brown, 1977.

University at Albany, State University of New York: Marcia J. Brown Papers, 1940-2000, MSS-005.

University of Minnesota: Marcia Brown Papers, 1950-1961, CLRC-8.

University of Southern Mississippi: Marcia Brown Papers, 1946-1972, DG0123.

• Dummies (printed matter)
• Woodcuts (prints)

• Brown, Marcia

• Children's authors--20th century
• Children's literature--20th century
• Illustrated children's books--20th century
• Illustration of books--20th century