Joan Walsh Anglund (January 3, 1926 – March 9, 2021) was an American poet and children's book author and illustrator. ''A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You'', her first children's books, was one of the ''New York Times'' Best Illustrated Children's Books. She published more than 120 books, and as of 2014, she had sold over 45 million books worldwide. In 2015 a

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

stamp was issued commemorating the American author and poet

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

with the Joan Walsh Anglund quote "A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song" though the stamp apparently attributes the quote to Angelou. The quote is from Anglund's book of poems ''A Cup of Sun'' (1967). President Obama also wrongly attributed the sentence to Angelou during the presentation of the 2013 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal.

Life

Anglund was born on January 3 in 1926 in Hinsdale, Illinois. Her parents were Thomas and Mildred Walsh. She studied at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

and at the

American Academy of Art The American Academy of Art College was a private for-profit art school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of fine and commercial arts students. In July 2024, the college announced its pending closure. History The ...

in the mid-1940s. She met her future husband, the actor and playwright Bob Anglund, in 1946. They married in 1947 before moving to

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She started writing in the 1950s after moving to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

from the Mid-West. Anglund had two children, Joy Anglund Harvey and Todd. Anglund died March 9, 2021, at age 95, of heart failure."Obituaries: Joan Walsh Anglund, illustrator who distilled childhood to its essence, dies at 95"
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Works

Poetry for children

* ''The Golden Treasury of Poetry'', 1959 * ''The Golden Book of Poems for the Very Young'', 1971

Poetry for adults

* ''A Cup of Sun'', 1967 * ''A Slice of Snow'', 1970 * ''Goodbye, Yesterday'', 1974 * ''Almost a Rainbow'' * ''Memories of the Heart'' * ''Circle of the Spirit'' * ''The Song of Love'' * ''The Crocus in the Snow'' * ''The Way of Love''

Children's books

*''A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You'', Harcourt, 1958 *''The Brave Cowboy'', Harcourt, 1959 * ''Look out the Window'', 1959 *''Love Is a Special Way of Feeling'', 1960 *''In a Pumpkin Shell'', Harcourt, 1960 *''Cowboy and His Friend'' *''Christmas Is a Time of Giving'', 1961 *''Nibble Nibble Mousekin'' *''Spring Is a New Beginning'', 1963 * ''Childhood is a time of innocence'', 1964 * ''Cowboy's Secret Life'' * ''A Pocketful of Proverbs'', Collins, 1965 * ''The Joan Walsh Anglund Sampler'' * ''Un Ami, C'Est Quelqu'un Qui T'aime'' * ''A Book of Good Tidings'' * ''What Color is Love?'' * ''A Year is Round'' *''Babies Are a Bit of Heaven'', 2002 *''Love Is the Best Teacher'', 2004 * ''Faith Is a Flower'', 2006

Critical reception

The ''New York Times'' regularly reviewed Anglund's children's books, describing the narrative universe created by Anglund as reassuring and comfortable.

References

External links

Author's website
1926 births 2021 deaths American women poets American children's writers American women children's writers American women illustrators American children's book illustrators American women children's book illustrators {{DEFAULTSORT:Anglund, Joan Walsh