Another master gone

During the 1960s, American children's books became more international in scope. Folk tales from around the world were retold and published for American children. Several of these were illustrated by Blair Lent, whose death at the age of 80 was announced this week. Probably his best known works were his illustrations for The Funny Little Lady, a Japanese folktale retold by Arlene Mosel. Like many of the other folktales published during those years, this story helped to expand the horizons of children and to make exotic countries like Japan seem more familiar. We take it for granted now that children's stories should be international, but this wasn't always true. We should stop to honor one of the pioneers who introduced many of us to new stories in unfamiliar settings.