Marcia Brown
American children's illustrator and writer (1918–2015)
title: "Marcia Brown" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1918-births", "american-children's-writers", "american-women-children's-writers", "american-women-children's-book-illustrators", "caldecott-medal-winners", "american-children's-book-illustrators", "children's-literature-legacy-award-winners", "writers-from-rochester,-new-york", "2015-deaths", "artists-from-rochester,-new-york", "university-at-albany,-suny-alumni", "writers-who-illustrated-their-own-writing", "20th-century-american-women-writers"] description: "American children's illustrator and writer (1918–2015)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Brown" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American children's illustrator and writer (1918–2015) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox writer"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Marcia Brown |
| image | Photo_of_Marcia_Brown.png |
| birth_name | Marcia Joan Brown |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Laguna Hills, California, U.S. |
| occupation | Writer, Illustrator |
| genre | Children's literature |
| awards | {{Plainlist |
| :: |
| name = Marcia Brown | image = Photo_of_Marcia_Brown.png | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = Marcia Joan Brown | birth_date = | birth_place = Rochester, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Laguna Hills, California, U.S. | occupation = Writer, Illustrator | genre = Children's literature | debut_works = | awards = {{Plainlist|
- Caldecott Medal
- 1955 Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper
- 1962 Once a Mouse
- 1983 Shadow
- Regina Medal 1977
- Children's Literature Legacy Award 1992
Marcia Joan Brown (July 13, 1918 – April 28, 2015) was an American writer and illustrator of more than 30 children's books. She won three annual Caldecott Medals from the American Library Association, six Caldecott Medal honors as an illustrator, recognizing the year's best U.S. picture book illustration, Many of her titles have been published in translation, including Afrikaans, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Xhosa-Bantu editions. Brown is known as one of the most honored illustrators in children's literature.
Life
Brown was born on July 13, 1918, in Rochester, New York. She enrolled in the New York State College for Teachers, predecessor to the University at Albany. She taught at Cornwall High School in New York City. Brown left teaching to work in the New York Public Library's Central Children's Room. Her first book was The Little Carousel, a 32-page picture book that she both wrote and illustrated, published by Scribner's in 1946.
Brown lived with her companion Janet Loranger, who was also her editor. Brown died on April 28, 2015, in Laguna Hills, California; she was 96 years old.
Awards
For her contribution as a children's illustrator, Brown was U.S. nominee in both 1966 and 1976 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books. She received the 1977 Regina Medal from the Catholic Libraries Association for "continued, distinguished contribution to children's literature without regard to the nature of the contribution" and the 1992 Children's Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association for "substantial and lasting contributions to children's literature"; it was then conferred every three years.
Brown received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the SUNY Albany Alumni Association (1969), the Distinguished Service to Children's Literature Award from the University of Southern Mississippi (1972), and the Regina Medal from the Catholic Library Association for service to children's literature (1977).
From 1955 to 1983, Brown won three Caldecott Medals, the annual American Library Association award to the illustrator of the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children" (only David Wiesner has also won three). Her books have been named Honor Books six times from 1947 to 1954.
Selected works
Caldecott Medal winners
- Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper, 1954
- Once a Mouse, 1961
- Shadow, 1982
Caldecott Honor finalist
- Stone Soup: An Old Tale, 1947
- Henry Fisherman, 1949
- Dick Whittington and his Cat, 1950
- Skipper John's Cook,1951
- Puss in Boots, 1952
- The Steadfast Tin Soldier, 1953
References
References
- "Children's author, 3-time winner of caldecott Medal," Chicago Sun-Times, May 9, 2015, p. 33.
- Shelf, ALSC Book & Media Awards. "ALSC Book & Media Awards Shelf".
- "Marcia J. Brown '40 Biography". University at Albany.
- (7 May 2015). "Marcia Brown, 96, Dies; Book Illustrator Won Three Caldecott Medals".
- (8 May 2015). "Marcia Brown, award-winning illustrator of "Once a Mouse" and other books, dead at 96".
- "Obituary: Marcia Brown".
- "Marcia Brown - Biography".
- KELLOGG, CAROLYN. (2015-05-07). "Caldecott-winning illustrator Marcia Brown, 96, has died".
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