Favorite Poems Old and New

Leonard Weisgard was born in New Haven, Connecticut on December 13, 1916. He attended Pratt Institute for two years and studied dance with Martha Graham before becoming a window dresser at Macy's. He began his career making illustrations for several magazines including Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker, and Harper's Bazaar. He eventually focused on illustrating children's books. His first book, Suki, the Siamese Pussy, was published in 1937. He and Margaret Wise Brown first collaborated on the Noisy Books series, which urged readers to imitate sounds like dogs, trucks, and jackhammers. In 1947, he won the Caldecott Medal for The Little Island written by Brown under the pseudonym Golden MacDonald. He also wrote books he illustrated himself. In the 1950's, he designed the stage sets and costumes for several productions of the San Francisco Ballet. He died on January 14, 2000 at the age of 83.