Little Boy Brown

First published in 1949, Little Boy Brown is a little gem, ripe for rediscovery.

Illustrated by the famous graphic artist André François, Little Boy Brown is the greatest book about childhood loneliness of all time. It is also a classic that is ripe for rediscovery because of the lost New York City that it invokes and its contemporary feel. Little boy Brown loves elevators, tunnels, and subways. His friends are doormen and waiters. This is his own account of the wonderful day that he spends with Hilda, his family’s maid, and her family in the country. The character of little boy Brown is completely real and moving, and his story lingers long after the last word has been read.

Isobel Harris was an American author and storyteller, and Little Boy Brown was her first book for children. She loved entertaining children and even composed music for them.

André François was a French graphic designer and illustrator, who lived in New York for a while and did
many covers for The New Yorker. He also studied with Picasso and created many
cartoons and picture books for adults and children. Little Boy Brown was his
first picture book to be published in the United States.