Tuesday, March 08, 2005
FROM THE WRITERS ALMANAC:
It's the birthday of essayist and children's author Kenneth Grahame, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, known today for his book The Wind in the Willows, which began as a series of stories he told to his young son.
When he wrote The Wind in the Willows, many publishers turned it down because the idea of talking animals was too fantastic. At the time, Victorian educators believed that children should be discouraged as soon as possible from pretending and daydreaming, that letting children believe in fairy tales and myths was detrimental to their development. Grahame believed the opposite.
It was finally Teddy Roosevelt, a huge fan of Grahame's early work, who convinced a publisher to take on The Wind in the Willows. It became such a success that Grahame was able to retire from the Bank of England and move to the country. He lived for another 25 years, but he never wrote another book.
The Wind in the Willows still sells about 80,000 copies a year.
P.S. It's my birthday too! (-:
It's the birthday of essayist and children's author Kenneth Grahame, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, known today for his book The Wind in the Willows, which began as a series of stories he told to his young son.
When he wrote The Wind in the Willows, many publishers turned it down because the idea of talking animals was too fantastic. At the time, Victorian educators believed that children should be discouraged as soon as possible from pretending and daydreaming, that letting children believe in fairy tales and myths was detrimental to their development. Grahame believed the opposite.
It was finally Teddy Roosevelt, a huge fan of Grahame's early work, who convinced a publisher to take on The Wind in the Willows. It became such a success that Grahame was able to retire from the Bank of England and move to the country. He lived for another 25 years, but he never wrote another book.
The Wind in the Willows still sells about 80,000 copies a year.
P.S. It's my birthday too! (-: