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This is a blog

about making the book The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Sarah Jacoby.

This blog was made by Sarah so its mostly images that I, Sarah, either made or found along the way. I learned a lot about Margaret and her world as I researched imagery for this book. Still, I would like to tell you that I am no expert. As Mac might say, “it is hard to fit someone’s life into a blog”. 

You should know where these images come from. The black and white historical lookin’ ones are either from the New York Public Library archives or the Hollins University archives. I will tag them so that you can see. 

Otherwise, I took these photos in person or made them with my own ten fingers and brain.

If you would like to buy the book by all means get it from your local indie book seller. And if you'd like a personalized copy, signed by Mac and me, you can order it  here.  Please indicate to whom you'd like the book personalized in the comments. Orders must be placed by May 14.

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Here is Mac talking about the The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown. Hi, Mac! He made this for a little librarian preview for the book. I am not, in fact, alive in your computer right now. 

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The important thing about Margaret Wise Brown is that she wrote books

Mac Barnett

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This is Margaret Wise Brown. She likes brooches.

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Marg and Crispian (he bites) buddies forever. 

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Marg (right), her sister and their dog. This very collie made it into this part of the book: “When Margaret Wise Brown was six, or seven, she lived in a house next to the woods, she kept many pets. A dog and two fish, a pair of guinea pigs, wild robin and 36 rabbits.”

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This is a very early sample sketch that I submitted to Harpers to prove that I could draw a person that at least somewhat resembles Margaret Wise Brown. 

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Embarrassing secret: I accepted the offer to illustrate Mac’s book before I read the manuscript. I had to backtrack and ask my agent to send it to me. Eh heh.

But then I read it and I was very glad I had said yes.

It looked like this after I wrote some notes on it.

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Mac wrote this story in many layers. Here I was trying to parse out how to visually represent real historical fact vs. several other voices he had going on. I asked: who might those other voices belong to? Did they belong to anyone at all? You can see I circled this rule: figure everyone else as a bunny, keep Margaret as a person.  

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Margaret lived before the internet. She wrote a lot of letters to people. She received a lot as well. She often wrote to Michael Strange, a woman she loved. Michael often referred to her as “little bun”. I thought that it would be neat to divide this book into sets of time: modern time and historical story time. And the “now” would be populated with little buns. This would be how Margaret effected the world. We live in a post-bun world.

#theimportantthingaboutmargaretwisebrown #margaretwisebrown #harpercollinskids #sarahjacoby #macbarnett

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This is a very charming picture of Mac Barnett. He is wearing a jazzy outfit. I put this outfit on a bunny in the present library scene. Can you find Mac the bun?

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Final art for the modern library scene. Mac the bun where are you?

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NYPL

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

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There are two lions, Patience and Fortitude, that guard the entrance to the New York Public Library Beaux-Arts building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan. They are still there. You can visit them and say “hello”, or, “rawr”. 

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Here is a funny cartoon of the lions that are in the archives. It’s drawn by George Price, a talented dude.  

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This is not Anne Caroll Moore. But. It is a picture of some lovely branches in a vase. This is a thing that Anne Caroll Moore did: make the children’s section of the library more beautiful.

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Judging from this photo I’d say “pretty enthused”. 

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