Beautiful Useful Things: What William Morris Made

Award-winning author Beth Kephart and illustrator Melodie Stacey’s poetic picture book, Beautiful Useful Things, is about the life and work of William Morris, maker of beautiful, useful things, sure to engage young dreamers and artists alike.

William Morris is best known for his colorful wallpapers and textiles, inspired by the English forests and wild foliage where he grew up. But did you know this icon of the Arts and Crafts Movement was also a poet, a painter, a preservationist, an activist, an environmentalist, and a maker of many other beautiful, useful things, like books?

＂Created with sweeping lines, repeated shapes, and deep, soft colors, Stacey’s graceful illustrations reflect elements of Morris’ artistic work as well as his affinity for nature. A lovely book introducing a notable Englishman whose life and work are unfamiliar to most American children.＂ --Booklist

＂A harmonious picture book whose poetic text and delicate illustrations befit its subject.＂ --Kirkus Reviews

Beth Kephart is an award-winning author of over thirty books for adults, young adults, and children, including And I Paint It, published by Cameron Kids, and the forthcoming A Room of Your Own: Virginia Woolf and Where We Go to Think, Dream, and Be. She lives in Pennsylvania. Melodie Stacey is an artist and illustrator based in Brighton, United Kingdom, not far from where William Morris lived and worked. This is her first book for Cameron Kids.