“This is my absolute favorite book from childhood.

Her most recent books include Hattie and the Wild Waves. Miss Rumphius, for which the author won both the American Book Award and a New York Times citation in 1982, was inspired by the true story of a woman who traveled the world collecting flower seeds and came home at last to make something beautiful. In fact, it was for her adaptation of Chaucer’s The Nun Priest’s Tale that she won the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1959.Ĭooney died on 14 March, 2000 at the age of 83. In the later part of her career Cooney focused on writing and illustrating more books of her own, and these were equally well–received.

She quickly received assignments after getting a portfolio together and schlepping it around to publishers, but, unfortunately, World War II postponed her new career for a bit. Cooney was illustrating several books a year and even wrote one herself now and then. Never considering an art school and wanting a liberal arts education, she later attended Smith College where she studied art history and received her degree in 1938, a decision she was later to regret. Realizing that she needed to make a living at something, she decided that illustrating books was a career as good as any. Cooney attended a boarding school as a child. Because her father was a stockbroker, her family lived in suburbia, which Barbara disliked. About the Authorīarbara Cooney and her twin brother were born on Augin Brooklyn, New York to Russell Schenck Cooney and Mae Evelyn Bossert. The art for Miss Rumphius has a permanent home in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. The illustrations have been reoriginated, going back to the original art to ensure state-of-the-art reproduction of Cooney’s exquisite artwork.

Miss Rumphius received the American Book Award in the year of publication. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went. This beloved classic and celebration of nature-written by a beloved Caldecott winner-is lovelier than ever!īarbara Cooney’s story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. Alice made a promise to make the world a more beautiful place, then a seed of an idea is planted and blossoms into a beautiful plan.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney