World More Beautiful: The Life and Art of Barbara Cooney, written by angela burke kunkel and illustrated by becca stadtlander. Random House Studio, 2024. $26.99 ages 4 and up

"Barbara goes out into world with a portfolio 
full of color, thinking she might like to illustrate 
books. She meets with publisher after publisher, 
looking for work. 

With work comes rules: 

Scratchboard

Precise, exacting. 

Small. 

Unforgiving. 

No room for mistakes."    

If Barbara Cooney were here to see the beauty that is ours in Manitoba today, she would stand in awe. Rime ice covers everything after a few days of fog. It is incredibly beautiful, and certainly lasts longer than the less dense hoarfrost. 

Barbara and her twin brother were born in 1917 in a Brooklyn hotel built by her grandfather. While her father showed favoritism to the family's male children, Barbara and her mother loved 'art, and color, and light'. Barbara quite enjoyed sick days as they kept her home from school, and left her with endless time to pursue her love for creating art. Her artist mother provided all the supplies Barbara needed. 

Spending summers in Maine fueled her love of natural settings. Soon enough, Barbara is grown and is able to fuel her passion for art. She hopes her portfolio will lead to her illustrating books. Publishers have many requirements and rules. She creates such art to help feed her family, and because those are her instructions. 

Seeing nature with her children, she is inspired to break the rules and draw what she wants to draw. Family journeys expand her horizons and her wonder at the beauty to be found around her. Soaking up the colors that she sees, her art reflects the world's beauty, and Barbara's heart. In later life she returns to Maine, builds a house, and continues to paint pictures from a life well-lived. Barbara has one dream left to realize. Her lasting legacy is the library in Damariscotta, Maine, funded in part by the sale of her art, and the works of many well-known illustrators. 

Gouache artwork is reminiscent of Ms. Cooney's work, and also includes quiet reminders of some of her most famous books. Backmatter offers an author's note about Ms. Cooney's life and work, three pieces of art from her books, a selected bibliography, and acknowledgements. An afterword from son Barnaby speaks of the legacy left by his mother for her family and the children of the world.