He and She is a collection of love poems by Margaret Wise Brown, the author of many well-known works for children such as Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Margaret was on the forefront of the growing children's book business after the baby boom of WWII. She was bold and brilliant. Some who worked with her called her a creative genius, and the numerous books she penned that became classic works of children's literature certainly back up those claims.
However, few know that this prolific pioneer of children's literature led a fascinating and unconventional life. These touching and, at times, fraught poems provide a deeply personal look into Margaret's love life. Her great loves included William Gaston, a prominent New York attorney and with Michael Strange (born Blanche Oelrichs), the former wife of actor John Barrymore. James "Pebble" Rockefeller was Margaret's fiancé at the time of her death.
Pebble was her match in spirit and in zest for life. Before sailing to France for meetings with stage and movie producers, Margaret watched him set sail to circumnavigate the world. They had plans to meet in St. Thomas to be married.
Days before their planned reunion, Margaret was stricken with appendicitis and taken to a hospital in Nice. A few days after that surgery, Margaret was asked by a nurse how she was feeling. She replied "Grand!", and kicked up her leg can-can style. An embolism that had formed in her leg broke loose, killing her in a matter of minutes.
Her sudden death at the age of 42 took the publishing world by surprise. The energetic, robust and unforgettable woman who breezed into their offices with ice cream for the staff on a hot day or fought to keep a four-syllable word in a simple text was simply gone. However, her legacy is evident in every library and bookstore.
Margaret pushed the boundaries of publishing to merge with other forms of media and marketing - creating stories for the backs of cereal boxes, drafting television radio dramas for children, and writing songs to be sung by some of the most famous singers of her day. Without a doubt, Margaret would have made certain her works were part of the new frontiers of multimedia for children.
Margaret's ability to lead children into the realm of imagination laid the foundation for her to became one of the most enduring writers for children of all time. Even though she achieved success and praise at the highest levels for her children's books, at times she longed to be known for her stories, plays, and poems "not intended for children."
By the time of her death, though, she had become satisfied to be known a "writer of songs and nonsense" - the epitaph that Pebble placed on a stone near the place he eventually placed the ashes of his beloved Margaret.
