In 1948, a year after she rewilded the landscape of literature with Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown watched the love of her life fade to black. Michael Strange, born Blanche Oelrichs, had cast an instant spell on Margaret–outspoken, sophisticated, and self-possessed . . . Both women were born in the wrong century, bent on bending it to their will; both were accidental radicals, just by living unselfconsciously . . . Margaret loved Michael with unassailable devotion, and Michael was dying. So she did the hardest thing in life–facing the death of a beloved while remaining a pillar for their passage–the best way she knew how: She wrote a love letter in the form of a children’s book . . . I fell instantly under the spell of this crepuscular story aglow with love and longing . . . Margaret’s love letter to the mystery of death . . . bittersweet and beautiful like the transience of life itself.”
The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds by Margaret Wise Brown was the result of that grief. In October 2026 an edited edition with a foreword by Maria Popova and illustrations by Ofra Amit will be published. Obviously this is an emotional, personal read. The story itself is not as straightforward as you might think, therefore it is more of a book for older readers and adults. With that said, the younger reader could take the surface of it (a sister and brother come to live with an old man who lives at the edge of the forest, the brother goes into the forest, comes out changed) and leave it at that. However, since the forest is Death, well, you the adult can imagine what that means.
The part that captured my interests were the illustrations. Ofra Amit seems have the original look to things, due to their classic style, but they have been modernized with the colors having been changed and the style “fluffed up” a bit. The entire package is worth reading about and not just the story or the illustrations. There are extras at the end to tell you about the history, but you can also “go forth” and find out more on your own. I was able to find some of the original images and in some ways, I prefer them. Though the new edition images do have a lighter, brighter, softer color and detailed tone, it still keeps a seriousness to things. But I think most people will like the newer version.
I read via an online reader and it is due later October / early November 2026. Maria Popova included an afterwards.
