Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

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Ingri (December 27, 1904 – October 24, 1980) and Edgar (September 30, 1898 – May 1, 1986) Parin d'Aulaire were two of the best known writers and illustrators of children's books in the 20th century.

Edgar Parin, originally of Swiss citizenship, was born in Munich, Germany to the famous Italian portrait painter Gino Parin (1867-1944) and Ella Auler, a talented artist and musician who had moved from St. Louis to the cultural center of Europe: Paris. Edgar took his mother's maiden name when she changed it to, d'Aulaire. At about the same time he became a sought-after artist in his own right. Edgar, a pupil of Henri Matisse, illustrated many books in Germany from 1922 to 1926 and painted frescoes in Norway from 1926 to 1927.

When Ingri Mortenson was 15, the renowned Norwegian painter Harriet Backer encouraged her to pursue art as a career. Ingri later studied at art schools in Norway, Germany, and France.

Ingri and Edgar met while they were attending art school in Paris. They were married in 1925. A modest insurance settlement following a near-fatal bus-trolley collision in Paris provided the seed money to send Edgar to the United States, steerage class, to scout for opportunities. He garnered enough commissions illustrating books to send for Ingri. They initially took up residence in a cold-water walk-up flat in Brooklyn, NY in 1929.

At first, the couple pursued separate careers. Edgar concentrated on illustrating books using wood block engravings and stone lithography; Ingri garnered commissions to paint portraits of prominent businessmen.

Their work caught the eye of the director of the N.Y. Public Library. Acting on her suggestion, the d'Aulaires decided to turn their talents to children's books. They collaborated on the first of many to come, The Magic Rug, in 1931. Shortly thereafter they took up United States citizenship.

Many of the d'Aulaires' early books depict the scenery and folktales of Norway: Ola, Children of the Northlights, East of the Sun and West of the Moon. The couple later shifted their attention to their adopted country, and produced books about American folk heroes such as Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, and Buffalo Bill.

Using their research and travel experiences as inspiration, the husband and wife team produced 27 picture books for children. They received various awards for their work. Edgar illustrated Nora Burglon's book, Children of the Soil: A Story of Scandinavia which in 1932 won the Newbery Medal.

They went on to create Abraham Lincoln (1939) that received the coveted Caldecott Medal in 1940, and the 1953 Boy's Club award went to their version of Buffalo Bill (1952). The team received the Catholic Library Association Regina Medal for "continued distinguished contribution to children's literature."

Their 1972 work, d'Aulaires' Trolls was one of the New York Times Book Review's outstanding books of 1972. It was also a National Book Award finalist in 1973, and was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1974.

In 2005, New York Review Books (NYRB) republished their classic Norse Gods and Giants under the name d’Aulaires’ Book Of Norse Myths. This volume was carefully printed to reproduce the vibrant color and texture of the original lithographs. It includes a glowing foreword by noted author, Michael Chabon. Its immediate popularity prompted NYRB to reissue d'Aulaire's Trolls in 2006, which likewise was a meticulous reprint of the 1940 original pressing.

Animals Everywhere was reprinted and retitled d’Aulaires’ Book of Animals in late April 2007, followed by a new edition of The Two Cars to appear in mid-June 2007. More out of print books are scheduled to be reissued in the future.

The d'Aulaires lived and worked in Wilton, Connecticut, USA from 1941 until their deaths in the 1980s.

[edit] Bibliography

  • The Magic Rug, Doubleday, 1931.
  • Ola, Doubleday, 1932
  • Ola and Blakken, Doubleday, 1933
  • The Conquest of the Atlantic, Viking Press, 1933
  • The Lord’s Prayer, Doubleday, 1934
  • Children of the Northlights, Viking Press, 1935
  • George Washington, Doubleday, 1936 ∗
  • East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Viking Press, 1938
  • Abraham Lincoln, Doubleday 1939, (Caldecott Award Winner) ∗
  • Animals Everywhere, Doubleday, 1940 | ∗
  • Leif the Lucky, Doubleday, 1941 ∗
  • The Star Spangled Banner, Doubleday, 1942 ∗
  • Don’t Count Your Chicks, Doubleday, 1943
  • Wings for Per, Doubleday, 1944
  • Too Big, Doubleday, 1945 (Soon to be reissued.)
  • Pocahontas, Doubleday, 1946 ∗
  • Nils, Doubleday, 1948
  • Foxie, Doubleday, 1949 *
  • Benjamin Franklin, Doubleday, 1950 ∗
  • Buffalo Bill, Doubleday, 1952 ∗
  • The Two Cars, Doubleday, 1955 *
  • Columbus, Doubleday, 1955 ∗
  • The Magic Meadow, Doubleday, 1958
  • d’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, Doubleday, 1962 ∗ (Also available in unabridged audio CD, narrated by Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Kathleen Turner, and Matthew Broderick.)∗
  • Norse Gods and Giants, Doubleday, 1967 † ∗
  • Trolls, Doubleday, 1972 # ∗
  • The Terrible Troll Bird, Doubleday, 1976 ‡ *

∗ Currently in print
| Reissued d'Aulaire's Book of Animals, New York Review Books, 2007
# Reissued as d'Aulaires'Trolls, New York Review Books, 2006
† Reissued as d’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths, New York Review Books, 2005
‡ Based on the earlier Ola and Blakken