Happy Birthday to the Original Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney!
Of all the books I have done, ‘Miss Rumphius,’ ‘Island Boy,’ and ‘Hattie and the Wild Waves,’ are the closest to my heart. These three are as near as I ever will come to an autobiography. — Barbara Cooney (Wikipedia)
I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting…. It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand…. a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to—or draw down to—children. — Barbara Cooney (Goodreads)
Cooney passed away in 2000. That year, her son Barnaby Porter spoke with NPR’s All Things Considered about his mother’s work and life.
