Wanda Gág
Personal Information
Description
Wanda Hazel Gág was born in New Ulm, Minnesota, the daughter of a painter and photographer. Her parents spoke German in the house and Wanda did not learn to speak English until she went to school. When she was 14 years old, her father died of tuberculosis, and since her mother was also ill, Wanda became the head of the household. She stayed in school until her high school graduation in 1912. She worked as a teacher for a year, and supplemented her work with writing and illustrating for magazines, designing greeting cards and calendars, and painting lampshades. She received a scholarship to study art in St. Paul, and then moved to New York City. She continued to support her six younger siblings. In 1917 she illustrated A Child’s Book of Folk-Lore. In 1923, following a successful exhibition in New York, she left her job and began spending her summers in a country house in Connecticut and later on a farm in New Jersey. She drew and painted during the summer, then worked in New York engaged during the winter. At the time she was known for her lithographs, although today she is better known for her children's books, especially Millions of Cats (1928), for which she received the Newbery Honor Award. Wanda died of lung cancer in 1946 at her home in New Jersey.
Books
Gone is gone
A husband resents doing all the hard work of farming, so his wife suggests they exchange jobs for a day. He thinks that there will be nothing but relaxation and pleasure in housework, but his carelessness leads to one disaster after another.
Snow White and the seven dwarfs
A beautiful princess survives the muderous rage of her wicked stepmother with the help of seven kindly little men.
Wanda Gág's The earth gnome
An earth gnome helps a hunter boy rescue three princesses who are trapped underground by many-headed dragons.
More tales from Grimm
Thirty-two tales including "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "The Showmaker and the Elves."
Wanda Gág's The sorcerer's apprentice
A sorcerer's apprentice learns his master's spells on the sly and finds they come in handy when he is in danger.
Nothing at all
Left alone when his two visible brothers are chosen as pets by a little girl and boy, an invisible puppy tries to find a way to become a dog that everyone can see and love.
Snippy and Snappy
Brother and sister field mice narrowly escape a trap when they follow their mother's ball of yarn far from their cozy hay field home.
The Funny Thing
The Funny Thing is an "aminal" who eats nothing but dolls until the good little man of the mountains gets him to taste the jum jills.
Millions of cats
Millions of Cats is a wonderful tale of vanity versus humility, written and illustrated by the singular Wanda Gag. An old man and his wife decide to get a cat, so the old man goes out in search of the prettiest cat of all. When he is forced to choose from "hundreds, thousands, millions and billions and trillions" of cats, he (naturally) brings them all home. When the wife points out their inability to support the legion of felines, it is left to the cats to decide who among them is the prettiest. Anyone who has ever owned more than a single cat can tell you what happens next. Gag's simple, appealing black ink drawings are perfect for the story, somehow capturing at least the idea of millions of cats in a single page. Repeated lines and the sing-song title refrain make this a read-aloud natural.(Ages 4 to 8) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. "This Newbery Honor winner is distinguished by innovative design and a strong storyteller's cadence." (School Library Journal's "One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century")
Folk and fairy tales
A collection of children's folk and fairy tales, including fables of Aesop.
Growing pains
The Six Swans
A retelling of how the king's daughter rescues her six brothers from the enchantment imposed on them by their wicked stepmother.
My Own Book of Animal Stories
Tales from Grimm
An illustrated collection of fifteen traditoonal tales including "The Frog Prince," "The Three Spinners," and "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids."