Barbara Cooney, Selected Works

1983 National Book Award for Children's Books

 National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children."

Ranked #13 on the "Top 100 Picture Books" by School Library Journal.

The illustrations have been reoriginated, going back to the original art to ensure state-of-the-art reproduction of Cooney's exquisite artwork. The art for Miss Rumphius has a permanent home in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.

Winner of the Caldecott Medal
Horn Book Fanfare

ALA Notable Children's Book

King of the barnyard, Chanticleer struts about all day. When a fox bursts into his domain, dupes him into crowing, and then grabs him in a viselike grip, Chanticleer must do some quick thinking to save himself and his barnyard kingdom.

Winner of the Caldecott Medal


“Like a pastoral symphony translated into picture book format, the stunning combination of text and illustrations recreates the mood of 19-century rural New England.”—The Horn Book

“Island Boy is certain to be a favorite for family sharing, as well as a must for school and public libraries. Teachers will love it; buy extra copies.”—School Library Journal

“As encompassing as the portrait of a life depicted in the award-winning Miss Rumphius , Cooney’s latest work is an ode to simple acts of daily living.”—Publishers Weekly

Based on the life of the author's mother, "the daughter of an immigrant family that was industrious, affectionate, and successful. . . . An idyllic childhood . . . serves as a glamorous backdrop for Hattie's emerging determination to become an artist".--Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books.

"Cooney's charmingly detailed, childlike and colorful art is the perfect choice for this New England tale. Children will be captivated by her perspective of earlier days, when kids played  and walked to school on scenic country roads. A stirring and resonant book." -- Publishers Weekly

"... an original creation which survives on the power of its mood. Imaginative children with their own night fantasies may well blend this vision with their dreams."
--New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year (1975)

"Cooney's brightly colored illustrations done in her classic and recognizable style etch the town and its inhabitants indelibly on the page as well as in the mind's eye. Her soft, personable little figures give the town and its story just the right feeling. This book celebrates how children and their imaginations make fanciful things become magically real and make them last forever. Don't miss it." -- School Library Journal

"An accomplished, fluid telling garnishes this simple story, as do Cooney's moonlit paintings of wintry evenings and the welcoming glow of fire and lanterns. Ruthie is more or less an observer; her mother is the real heroine. But the way they work together to keep their family's duty is rendered in a harmonious blending of text and pictures.-- Publishers Weekly