Margaret Bloy Graham (1920- )
Vincent DeCaen
spring 2007
Margaret Bloy Graham is a great long-time friend of the Osborne Collection (Toronto
Public Library) according to the head of the collection, Leslie McGrath.1 The proofs of
Harry the dirty dog are a centre-piece of this collection, she boasts.
In 1986 Graham presented the Osborne with the signature illustration of Harry
that continues to be used in fundraising. Crucially, she has protected the Osborne’s rights
to this image (against the publisher and its claims). For the 50th anniversary of the
Osborne (1999), Graham provided a banner for the bookmark.
She has also drawn pictures in the copies of her works held by the Osborne. She
continues to supply the Osborne with new translations; according to McGrath the most
recent translation of Harry the dirty dog has been made into Korean.
1. Biographical Background
Margaret Bloy Graham was born 2 November 1920 in Toronto ON to parents Malcolm
Robert Graham, a physician, and his wife Florence née Bloy, a nurse. About a year later
the family moved to Sandwich ON (now a neighbourhood on Windsor’s west side),
where her father became the superintendent of the sanatorium. She recalls Sandwich as a
“nice old town with lots of space to roam about in,” situated on the Detroit River, “a
source of endless entertainment to my brother and me” (Graham, 1963, p. 102).
1
I gratefully acknowledge Leslie McGrath’s bibliographical assistance; I should also mention the
assistance of reference librarians at OISE/UT. Details regarding Graham and the Osborne summarized here
derive from interviews with Ms. McGrath (October 2006). <lmcgrath@torontopubliclibrary.ca>
While her childhood was spent in Ontario, she spent her summer holidays abroad,
either with her grandfather in England or an aunt in the United States. Graham
characterizes her childhood self above all as an avid reader. “As a child, reading meant
more to me than drawing, and when I grew older, reading became my favorite pastime”
(p. 102).
The family returned to Toronto when she was age ten. Her career as artist began
with this move to Toronto where she attended Saturday morning classes at the Art
Gallery of Ontario. She recalls a growing interest in sketching and painting fostered by “a
sympathetic and encouraging [high-school art] teacher” (p. 102).
Graham ended up majoring in art history at the University of Toronto, graduating
in 1943. She worked (while a student?) in the display department of a large store (in
Toronto?), working up large oil paintings for window backgrounds. One summer while
painting these canvases, she says, she began to think of herself as an artist. (Apparently
one painting from this period inspired her husband’s first children’s book, All falling
down (Kingman et al., 1968, p. 116).)
After graduation, she attended a summer course at the venerable Art Students
League in New York City, established 1875 (http://www.theartstudentsleague.org). She
later supplemented her studies at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and
also the New School for Social Research.
It was after the summer course in 1943 that she decided to stay in New York to
establish a career as a commercial artist. In the waning years of World War II (1944-45)
she worked as a ship draftsman for Gibbs & Cox. The war finally over, she began
working in 1946 in the art department of Condé Nast Publications, the magazine empire
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(http://www.condenast.com), where she remained until the end of her formal working
career in 1956.
She met her first husband Gene Zion (1913-1975) at Condé Nast. The New York
native Zion worked there from 1946 until 1949, when he embarked upon the life of a
freelance writer and designer. They were married in July 1948.
Zion was urged by his new wife and also his editor, Ursula Nordstrom of Harper
and Brothers, to write children’s books. He remembers that it was his wife’s sketch of
children gathering apples in an orchard, done several years earlier in Canada, that
inspired his first book, All falling down (1951). Of this career as children’s author, he
says, “no creative effort has been more gratifying ... than writing picture books for
children” (Commire, 1980, p. 306).
The husband-and-wife team became famous for the Harry series of books,
beginning with Harry the dirty dog (1956) and followed by No roses for Harry! (1958),
Harry and the lady next door (1960) and Harry by the sea (1965). The collaboration
ended with their divorce in 1968; Zion later died in December 1975. (Graham was
remarried in 1972 to a merchant-ship officer, Oliver W. Holmes, Jr.)
Graham launched her own writing career around the time of the divorce with her
Be nice to spiders (1967). She later developed her own canine hero Benjy through a
series of books.
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Biographical Sources2
Commire, A. (1977). GRAHAM, Margaret Bloy 1920- . In Something about the author (Vol. 11,
pp. 119-120). Detroit MI: Gale Research.
Commire, A. (1980). ZION, (Eu)Gene 1913-1975. In Something about the author (Vol. 18, pp.
305-306). Detroit MI: Gale Research.
Graham, M.B. (1963). Margaret Bloy Graham 1920- . In M. Fuller (Ed.), More junior
authors (pp. 102-103). New York: H.W. Wilson.
Kingman, L., Foster, J., & Lontoft, R.G. (Eds.). (1968). Graham, Margaret Bloy. In Illustrators of
children’s books: 1957-1966 (p. 116). Boston: The Horn Book.
Literature Resource Center. (2002). Margaret Bloy Graham 1920- . In Contemporary authors
online. Retrieved October 12, 2000, from http://galenet.galegroup.com [University of
Toronto Libraries].
Pitchford, T.R. (2006). Graham, Margaret Bloy. In J. Zipes (Ed.), The Oxford encyclopedia of
children’s literature [Electronic version]. Retrieved October 19, 2006, from
http://www.oxford-childrensliterature.com [University of Toronto Libraries].
Silvey, A. (Ed.). (2002). Graham, Margaret Bloy. In The essential guide to children’s books and
the creators (p. 181). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Ward, M.E., & Marquardt, D.A. (1975). GRAHAM, Margaret Bloy, 1920- . In Illustrators of
Books for Young People (2nd ed., p. 69). Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow.
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The actual biographical sources are terse encyclopedia entries, unsuitable for young readers. This is also
true of her own short biography (Graham, 1963). It may be worth considering, therefore, what a biography
for young readers would look like—especially what content is missing from the outline here but should
appear in such a biography—and trying to contact her through HarperCollins to supplement the outline. (I
think more information on her childhood and its formative influences, and also on her studies in art and art
history, would be a priority. Some personal insights into the creation of Harry would also be valuable.)
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2. Major Works (In Chronological Order)
Author and Illustrator
(1967). Be nice to spiders. HarperCollins.
(1971). Benjy and the barking bird. HarperCollins.
(1973). Benjy’s dog house. HarperCollins.
(1977). Benjy’s boat trip. HarperCollins.
(1988). Benjy and his friend Fifi. HarperCollins.
Illustrator
Zion, G. (1951). All falling down.† HarperCollins.
Zolotow, C. [Shapiro]. (1952). The storm book.† HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1954). Hide and seek day. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1955). The summer snowman. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1956). Harry the dirty dog. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1956). Really spring. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1957). Dear Garbage Man. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1957). Jeffie’s party. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1958). No roses for Harry! HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1959). The plant sitter. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1960). Harry and the lady next door. HarperCollins.
Zion, G. (1962). The meanest squirrel I ever met.‡ Scribners.
Young, M.B. (1964). The sugar mouse cake. Scribners.
Zion, G. (1965). Harry by the sea. HarperCollins.
Gordon, S. (1970). The green hornet lunchbox. Houghton Mifflin.
Prelutsky, J. (1974). The pack rat’s day and other poems. Macmillan.
Minarik, E.H. (1987). What if? Greenwillow.
Minarik, E.H. (1989). It’s spring! Greenwillow.
†Caldecott award honor book
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal.htm
‡Appeared in the Children’s Book Show of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (Kingman et al., 1968, p. 116).
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3. Critical Commentary on Graham’s Illustration
The critical commentary on Graham’s illustrations is apparently limited to pre-1960. This
critical literature suggests a double evolution: first, an evolution from prewar into postwar
illustration, in which Graham’s seminal work figures prominently; second, an evolution
within Graham’s own œuvre itself, from striking art at the outset, worthy of consecutive
Caldecott honour medals, to what is consistently described as cartoon-like illustration in
the transition to Harry the dirty dog (1956). Surely it is ironic that the work that Zion and
Graham are most famous for is the work that is no longer worthy of Caldecott attention.
Commentary stresses in various ways the representative nature of Graham’s
illustration in the immediate postwar period. This period, as Ward (1958) stresses, marks
a watershed in children’s picturebooks in which illustration becomes integral to the
overall creation. Ideologically, writes Ward, “we had a greater understanding of
illustration than ever before: the vital part that pictures can play in the total impact of a
book was acknowledged and the several ways in which pictures can function in relation
to the author’s words were clarified and defined” (p. 15).
More recently Paul (1997) also stressed the representative nature of Zion and
Graham’s early work, but within a socio-political critique of gendered depictions in
postwar America. “Harry the Dirty Dog stands as a pristine example of the postwar
version of clean. This is white, suburban middle America. … It is also a world where
gender orders space, work, and dirt” (pp. 534-535). Paul extends the feminist critique to
the sequel No Roses for Harry! (p. 536).
The most general characteristic of Graham’s illustration is the three-colour
scheme. She begins with the basic black drawings in pencil and wash; she then imposes
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two colours, yellow plus one other primary, on paper in a wash over a light table
(Kingman et al., 1968, p. 116). Whereas in the early work the drawings are internally
consistent but the third colour may vary from picture to picture, in the later work each
book is characterized by one and only one dominant third colour (for example, green in
Harry the dirty dog versus red in Dear Garbage Man). The stylized drawings and the
underlying black-yellow theme are strongly reminiscent, it seems to me, of the
illustrations in the Madeline series, and I wonder how direct that influence might be.
The Caldecott honours for her first two books with Zion are appropriate. The
book that started it all, All falling down (1951), draws praise from all quarters. Three
aspects are emphasized: the energy of the figures, the overall composition, and the simple
charm of the text-picture output. Bader (1976) notes the overlap with Rey (of Curious
George fame) in the consistent energy of the figures: “it is characteristic of Graham’s
work—as, say, of Rey’s—that animals and people, old and young are drawn with the
same lively interest” (p. 466). In addition to the “softness and lightness and general
wispiness” of the pictures (p. 467), Bader remarks on the composition that is “spacious,
loose, airy, even empty; points of interest are scattered. The image is of a big world
spotted with small figures which, however casual as design, is effective, empathic
picturebook illustration” (pp. 466-467). Finally, there can be no doubt about the charm in
the overall effect; as an anonymous critic of the New York Herald Tribune Book Review
wrote, the book “might seem oversimple were it not that the pictures have such a charm
and offer so many details for further talk. The scenes are in city and country, and the
many moods so happily translated into action are worth the long book” (cited by
Commire, 1980, p. 306). The drawings are not terribly realistic, it seems to me, and the
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perspective is skewed (as in drawings by young children). The use of pastels and the
general effect do in fact recall classics such as Curious George and Madeline.
More detail and realism are found, however, in The storm book, written by
Zolotow (1952). Here we find a strikingly darker palette dominated by black and grey.
“The sky looms large, crackling with energy and fury. The text and art never share a
page, allowing sweeping pictures of the storm to dominate the two-page spreads
unchallenged” (Silvey, 2002, p. 181). Once again, commentators remark on the scattered
“myriad details you might notice were you there” (Bader, 1976, p. 466).
Ward (1958) lumps The storm book in with a class of postwar “awareness books.”
This is a species of book “where word and picture combine to point out to children facts
about the world they live in, or make them aware of the quality of things. This requires a
very sensitive ‘awareness’ on the part of the artist—for while it is true that artists cannot
always communicate all of what they feel, it is impossible to communicate something not
felt at all. So an artist must himself have first experienced the wonder and simple beauty”
of the given phenomena (p. 17). Bader (1976) picks up this point too, emphasizing that
the pictures are “so convincing” (p. 465) and confirming that “Margaret Bloy Graham
had an observing eye too” (p. 466).
There is then a rapid transition away from Caldecott distinctions to more cartoonlike illustration. Cole (1973) summarizes the transition simply: “Clean cartoon
illustrations” (p. 30). Bader (1976) identifies the inflection point as Really spring (1956),
appearing in the same year as Harry the dirty dog. Really spring is “the book that begins
to look like a cartoon book—bold flat simplified drawing, genial-funny faces” (p. 467).
By Dear Garbage Man, appearing the following year, the transition is complete: “the
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cartoon style” is “now overt” (p. 468). In addition to the usual nod to Graham’s detail, the
“busy little touches to the text,” Klemin (1966) notes the “charming, comic style” of the
1959 The plant sitter (pp. 40-41).
No doubt Harry the dirty dog is a markedly different creation. In contrast to the
earlier award-winning work there are now very thick black outlines, starker and more
angular figures, and a busier composition where Graham’s famous detail threatens to
overwhelm. Silvey (2002) characterizes Harry as follows. “Filled with oranges and
greens, the art is loose and spaciously composed. The characters are rounded and simply
drawn, wonderfully genial in appearance and attitude. There is a droll, seemingly
effortless union of art and text in the Harry stories, a delicious mastery of everyday
foolishness” (p. 181).
Dear Garbage Man exaggerates these trends. The illustration is much more
cartoon-like and the composition is much busier. Indeed, the detail becomes clutter
(consistent with the story?), and I find the jarring dissonance of the garbage piles
unpleasant. The hard glare of the book’s red theme adds to the jarring aspect. Similarly,
the busy-ness of The plant sitter can also be overwhelming; profusion accented in shades
of green dominates.
For all that, Harry the dirty dog is the high point of later retrospectives. Apropos
Harry, MacCann & Richard (1973) write of its “same magnetic pull” instilled by classics
such as Horton hears a Who (1954), Madeline (1939) and The tale of Peter Rabbit
(1902)—“to mention just a few widely shared favorites” (p. 8). Elsewhere they compare
Harry’s ability to transcend his (con)text to that of another canine cultural icon, Snoopy.
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Many of the texts … could be separated from their
illustrations and depicted by other artists without any great
loss to the spirit of the books. But this is difficult to
imagine in the Harry books, which are illustrated by the
author’s wife, Margaret Bloy Graham. Harry seems no
more separable from the embodiment given him by
Margaret Bloy Graham than Snoopy would be from the line
drawings Charles Schulz creates in the comic strip Peanuts.
Harry is a mongrel whose character is immensely enhanced
by his cartoonist-illustrator” (p. 93).
Sources for Critical Commentary
Bader, B. (1976). Feelings extended: Charlotte Zolotow, Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy
Graham … . In American picturebooks from Noah’s ark to the beast within (pp.
459-485). New York: Macmillan.
Cole, W. (1973). Children’s books: The best of a season. Saturday Review/World,
December 4, 28-32.
Kingman, L., Foster, J., & Lontoft, R.G. (Eds.). (1968). Graham, Margaret Bloy. In
Illustrators of children’s books: 1957-1966 (p. 116). Boston: The Horn Book.
Klemin, D. (1966). The art of art for children’s books: A contemporary survey. New
York: Clarkson N. Potter.
MacCann, D., & Richard, O. (1973). The child’s first books: A critical study of pictures
and texts. New York: H.W. Wilson.
Paul, L. (1997). The politics of dirt: Or, mucking about with Piggybook, Harry the Dirty
Dog, and ‘Cinderella.’ The Horn Book Magazine, 73(5), 534-542.
Silvey, A. (Ed.). (2002). Graham, Margaret Bloy. In The essential guide to children’s
books and the creators (p. 181). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Ward, L. (1958). The book artist: ideas and techniques. In R.H. Viguers, M. Dalphin, &
B.M. Miller (Eds.), Illustrators of children’s books: 1946-1956 (chap. 2). Boston:
The Horn Book.
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4. Graham on Graham
In addition to the briefest of autobiographical notices (Graham, 1963), there is apparently
only one further item written by Graham herself (Graham, 1955). The latter is an Artist’s
Choice column in The Horn Book Magazine in which a noted illustrator comments upon
a new picturebook she particularly likes (in this case, Parsley).
I think these two notes offer an important counterpoint to the critical commentary
above, emphasizing rather that Graham is a real artist with real training, studies and
experience. The 1955 column highlights her studies in art history, it seems to me.
Consider, for example, how she dwells lovingly on one particular picture: “painted in
dense, almost sombre greens and browns, beautifully accented by the yellow ends of the
newly felled trees, the pale yellow wood chips and the fragile wild flowers. These colors
are further enriched by the powerful blues of the woodman’s shirt and the little girl’s
dresses. The blue in turn is made more intense by the vivid red galluses on the man and
the red ribbons in the girl’s yellow hair. The actual drawing is exceedingly expressive”
(p. 475). This is the voice of a critical art historian who delights in the excellence of
others, who appreciates above all “strong and daring composition” (p. 475) and, crucially,
the “wonderful wedding of words and pictures” (p. 474).
Graham, M.B. (1955). [Book review]. [Review of Parsley]. The Horn Book
Magazine,31(6), 474-475.
Graham, M.B. (1963). Margaret Bloy Graham 1920- . In M. Fuller (Ed.), More junior
authors (pp. 102-103). New York: H.W. Wilson.
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