Rosemary Wells facts for kids

Rosemary Wells was born on January 29, 1943. She is a famous American writer and artist who creates children's books. She often uses animal characters in her stories to explore real-life feelings and situations that kids face. Some of her most popular characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes to School. Both of these stories later became animated TV shows for young children. Max & Ruby aired on Nickelodeon (as part of Nick Jr.), and Timothy Goes to School was shown on PBS Kids on PBS.

Rosemary Wells: Her Life and Books

Early Life and Inspiration

Rosemary Wells grew up in Red Bank, New Jersey, after being born in New York City. Her mom was a ballerina, and her dad was a playwright, someone who writes plays. Rosemary started drawing when she was only two years old! Her family always encouraged her artistic talents and her love for stories. She once said that reading stories aloud was a huge part of her childhood.

Becoming an Author and Illustrator

When Rosemary was nineteen, she went to the Boston Museum School. There, she studied how to create pictures for books. Before she became a full-time author and illustrator, she worked as an art editor and an art designer for publishing companies. In 1963, she married Thomas Moore Wells, an architect, and they had two daughters.

Rosemary Wells published her first book in 1968. It was an illustrated version of A Song to Sing, O! by Gilbert and Sullivan. Since then, she has written and illustrated more than 60 books!

Why Animals?

A special thing about Rosemary Wells's stories is that she often uses animal characters instead of people. She explained that using animals helps her talk about important topics in a way that children can understand. It also makes it easier for adults to accept these topics.

For example, her book Yoko talks about understanding differences. In the story, a young Japanese kitten named Yoko brings sushi for lunch at school. At first, some of her classmates are not kind to her because her food is different. But by the end of the story, Yoko helps everyone understand and accept different cultures. She does this by hosting a school lunch where everyone brings food from their family's background.

Many of her animal characters, like Max and Ruby, act just like human children. Other characters, like McDuff the West Highland Terrier, are more like realistic pets adopted by a young couple.

Popular Books by Rosemary Wells

Rosemary Wells has written many beloved books. Here are some of her well-known works:

Max & Ruby Series

The Max & Ruby series is one of her most famous. It follows the adventures of two bunny siblings, Max and his older sister Ruby.

• Bunny Cakes
• Bunny Money
• Max's Chocolate Chicken
• Max's Christmas
• Max's Dragon Shirt
• Read to Your Bunny
• Ruby's Beauty Shop

Timothy Goes to School Series

This series features Timothy, a young raccoon, and his friends as they learn about school and friendship.

• Timothy Goes to School

McDuff Series

These books are about a cute West Highland Terrier named McDuff and his adventures.

• McDuff Comes Home
• McDuff Moves In
• McDuff Saves the Day
• McDuff Steps Out

Yoko Series

The Yoko series teaches important lessons about kindness, acceptance, and learning.

• Yoko
• Yoko Learns to Read
• Yoko's Paper Cranes

Other Notable Books

• Noisy Nora (1973)
• Benjamin & Tulip (1973)
• Hazel's Amazing Mother
• Morris's Disappearing Bag
• Shy Charles
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Awards and Recognition

Rosemary Wells's books have received many excellent reviews from important book magazines like Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly. She has also been nominated for several awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award. She has won some special awards too:

• Irma S. and James H. Black Award, 1975 - for Morris's Disappearing Bag
• Virginia Readers Choice Award, 1987 - for Man in the Woods
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, 1989 - for Shy Charles
• Parents' Choice Award, 2014 - for Stella's Starliner

See also

In Spanish: Rosemary Wells para niños