Ruth Krauss?s Final and Loveliest Collaboration with Maurice Sendak
by?Maria Popova
?Krauss books can be bridges between the poor dull insensitive adult and the fresh, imaginative, brand-new child.?
Beloved children?s author?Ruth Krauss?(July 25, 1901?July 10, 1993) penned more than thirty books for little ones over the course of her forty-year career, but remains best-known as half of one of the most celebrated author-illustrator duos of all time, the other half being none other thanMaurice Sendak. Their eight-year partnership, masterminded by the great?Ursula Nordstrom?who also?nursed Sendak into genius, produced such soul-stirring, heart-warming delights as the hopelessly wonderful ode to friendship?I?ll Be You and You Be Me. But Krauss?s eighth and final* collaboration with Sendak,?Open House for Butterflies?(public library), was arguably their loveliest. Originally published in 1960 and thankfully, unlike what happens to?a tragic many out-of-print gems, reprinted in 2001, this tiny treasure is a timeless smile-inducer for children and grown-ups alike.
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