*Because Barbara: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World by Sarah Mackenzie

Barbara Cooney’s passion for beauty still inspires many, and the result is this lovely picture book honoring her legacy.

*Because Barbara: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World by Sarah Mackenzie, pictures by Eileen Ryan Ewen. Waxwing, 2024. 40 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, Ages 4-8
• Recommended For: Ages 4-8

Because Sarah Mackenzie is such an admirer of the work of Barbara Cooney, a Caldecott award-winning American writer and illustrator, she wrote a lovely picture book biography about her.

Because Barbara introduces us to a woman whose love for art and good stories began in childhood. Somewhere in the margins and busy-ness of motherhood and beyond, she managed to fit in her creativity and win awards doing so.

In spite of publishers’ reluctance to use color throughout picture books (it was expensive! What if the books didn’t sell well?), Barbara’s determination won them over and earned her first Caldecott for Chanticleer and the Fox in 1959. She went on to further notoriety with Ox-Cart Man and Miss Rumphius, as well as illustrating a number of other books.

Barbara lived a full life with her children, sharing her love of creativity, picnics, and delight in observation with them. Her work continued after they were grown, not only in illustration, but also in raising money to renovate the local library. Ewen’s illustrations are particularly encouraging to mothers who struggle with practicing their art while trying to raise children: the less-than-quiet convalescence, the outdoor work and adventures, the bedtime reading in which the mother is more sleepy than her children. Barbara’s talents didn’t wait on a shelf until her children were grown; she applied them while her children played around her and even more when they were grown up.

This is a book that will motivate readers to discover the work of a classic illustrator who loved children and beautiful things. It is well-written with excellent artwork and additional resources at the end. Librarians might wonder why all their Barbara Cooney books are suddenly in demand.

Barbara Cooney’s passion for beauty still inspires many, and the result is this lovely picture book honoring her legacy.

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Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Resource: Roget, William Carlos Williams, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Antoine de Saint-Expury, and others. Here are more picture book biographies about some of the most well-known names in literature.
• Resource: There are so many good picture book biographies about artists! Here are three to consider.
• Resource: We love retro picture books. There’s a list of them here.
• Book Reviews: Yes, we have covered Sarah Mackenzie’s books before. The Read-Aloud Family, A Little More Beautiful, and While Everyone Is Sleeping

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