Nancy Willard | Author | LibraryThing

About the Author

Nancy Willard was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on June 26, 1936. She received a bachelor's degree in 1958 and a Ph.D in 1963 from the University of Michigan and a master's degree from Stanford University. She taught at Vassar College in the English department from 1965 until 2012. She published more show more than 70 books during her lifetime including collections of poetry, children's books, collections of short stories, novels, essays, and criticism. In 1982, she received the Newbery Medal for A Visit to William Blake's Inn. She died from natural causes on February 19, 2017 at the age of 80. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: N. Willard, Nancy Willard, Nanvy Willard, Nancy Willard

Image credit: 2004 Eric Lindbloom

Series

Adventures of Anatole

Works by Nancy Willard

Simple Pictures Are Best (1977) 511 copies

Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch (1991) 272 copies

The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake (1990) — Author — 170 copies

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1993) 152 copies

The Voyage of the Ludgate Hill: Travels with Robert Louis Stevenson (1987) 146 copies

Things Invisible to See (1984) 121 copies

The Nightgown of the Sullen Moon (1983) 109 copies

Beauty and the Beast (1992) 105 copies

Cinderella's Dress (2003) 90 copies

The Mountains of Quilt (1987) 81 copies

Sister Water (1993) 76 copies

Gutenberg's Gift (1995) 70 copies

A Starlit Somersault Downhill (1993) 66 copies

East of the Sun and West of the Moon (1989) 64 copies

The Flying Bed (2007) 60 copies

The Ballad of Biddy Early (1762) 58 copies

The Tale I Told Sasha (1999) 52 copies

An Alphabet of Angels (1994) 48 copies

Sailing to Cythera, and Other Anatole Stories (1974) 48 copies

Strangers' Bread (1975) 43 copies

Cracked Corn and Snow Ice Cream: A Family Almanac (1997) 37 copies

The Magic Cornfield (1997) 35 copies

Uncle Terrible: More Adventures of Anatole (1982) 35 copies

Telling Time: Angels, Ancestors, And Stories (1993) 34 copies

Swimming Lessons: New and Selected Poems (1996) 34 copies

Step Lightly: Poems for the Journey (1998) 33 copies

Firebrat (1988) 33 copies

Night Story (1986) 31 copies

The Highest Hit (1978) 30 copies

The Moon & Riddles Diner and the Sunnyside Cafe (2001) 29 copies

Among Angels: Poems (1995) 27 copies

A Starlit Snowfall (2011) 27 copies

The Tortilla Cat (1998) 26 copies

A Nancy Willard Reader: Selected Poetry and Prose (1991) 26 copies

The Mouse, the Cat, and Grandmother's Hat (2003) 26 copies

The Marzipan Moon (1981) 26 copies

In the Salt Marsh (2004) 23 copies

The Island of the Grass King: The Further Adventures of Anatole (1979) 23 copies

Shadow Story (1999) 23 copies

Sweep Dreams (2005) 19 copies

Water Walker (1989) 19 copies

Household Tales of Moon and Water (1982) 16 copies

Angel in the Parlor: Five Stories and Eight Essays (1983) 15 copies

The Good Night Blessing Book (1996) 14 copies

Gum (2017) 14 copies

The Well-Mannered Balloon (1976) 11 copies

The Three Mouths of Little Tom Drum (2015) 11 copies

The Sea at Truro: Poems (2012) 10 copies

The Left-Handed Story: Writing and the Writer's Life (Writers on Writing) (2008) 10 copies

Extra Innings: Baseball Poems (2001) 9 copies

The Adventures of Anatole (2018) 8 copies

Testimony of the Invisible Man; William Carlos Williams, Francis Ponge, Rainer Maria Rilke, Pablo Neruda. (1970) 7 copies

19 Masks for the Naked Poet (1971) 7 copies

Papa's Panda (1979) 7 copies

Dogstar Man [short fiction] 4 copies

Skin of Grace: Poems (1967) 4 copies

The lively anatomy of God; stories (1968) 3 copies

Swimming Lessons: Selected Poems (2014) 3 copies

Water Walker and 19 Masks for the Naked Poet: Collected Poems (2014) 3 copies

The Snow Rabbit (1975) 2 copies

The merry history of a Christmas pie : with a delicious description of a Christmas soup (1974) 2 copies

Carpenter of the sun (1974) 2 copies

Positive Relations @ School (& Elsewhere): Legal Parameters & Positive Strategies to Address Bullying & Harassment (2014) 2 copies

In His Country 2 copies

Sailing to Cythera (1991) 1 copy

A New Herball 1 copy

Shoes without Leather (1976) 1 copy

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 1 copy

Be Positively Powerful: A Guide for Teens on Achieving Resilience and Empowerment (2019) 1 copy

All on a May morning (1975) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

The Big Book for Peace (1990) — Contributor — 819 copies

Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry (2003) — Contributor — 768 copies

Cries of the Spirit: A Celebration of Women's Spirituality (2000) — Contributor — 372 copies

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (2008) — Contributor — 346 copies

A Newbery Christmas (1991) — Contributor — 287 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Ninth Annual Collection (1996) — Contributor — 239 copies

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifth Annual Collection (1992) — Contributor — 202 copies

Full Spectrum 3 (1991) — Contributor — 168 copies

A Newbery Halloween (1991) — Contributor — 152 copies

Poetry Speaks Expanded: Hear Poets Read Their Own Work from Tennyson to Plath (2007) — Contributor — 151 copies

Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn (1995) — Contributor — 148 copies

Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn: Volume 1 (1995) — Contributor — 130 copies

The Best Spiritual Writing 2011 (2010) — Contributor — 37 copies

For Neruda, For Chile: An International Anthology (1975) — Translator — 23 copies

American Review 25 (1976) — Contributor — 5 copies

Cricket Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3, November 1976 (1976) — Contributor — 5 copies

Cricket Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 7, March 1981 — Contributor — 3 copies

Cricket Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 1, September 1975 (1975) — Contributor — 3 copies

Tagged

animals (35) anthology (313) art (60) Caldecott (52) Caldecott Honor (66) children (84) children's (182) children's book (33) children's books (44) children's literature (95) collection (29) fairy tales (41) fantasy (298) fiction (315) first edition (48) Halloween (28) hardcover (54) history (48) horror (96) illustrated (44) juvenile (30) kids (28) literature (62) Newbery (71) Newbery Medal (85) non-fiction (70) own (31) peace (90) photography (33) picture book (333) poems (57) poetry (854) read (48) science fiction (44) short stories (127) spirituality (57) to-read (134) unread (38) William Blake (40) women (33)

Common Knowledge

Legal name: Willard, Nancy Margaret
Birthdate: 1936-06-26
Date of death: 2017-02-19
Gender: female
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Place of death: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
Cause of death: coronary and pulmonary arrest
Places of residence: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
Education: University of Michigan (BA, PhD)
Stanford University (MA)
Occupations: essayist
novelist
poet
teacher
Relationships: Lindbloom, Eric (husband)
Organizations: Vassar College (lecturer)
Awards and honors: Michigan Author Award (1994)

Members

Discussions

Child goes on adventure with talking cat and flying horse in Name that Book (August 2013)

Reviews

A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent… by Nancy Willard

I don't think I know enough about William Blake to appreciate this...I was glad when it was over.

Flagged

mrsandersonreads23 | 41 other reviews | Apr 14, 2024 |

A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent… by Nancy Willard

The illustrations that accompany the poems are sweet and magical and restrained. The poems are all of different syntax and tempo, making each page an interesting new read.

Flagged

mslibrarynerd | 41 other reviews | Jan 13, 2024 |

A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for… by Nancy Willard

It is rare to win both the Newberry Medal Award and a Caldecott Honor Award for the same book.
Well worth the accolades, this book is lushly illustrated with a silly manner that keeps the readers attention while smiling at the creativity. In addition, well-written poems in the style of William Blake hold the readers interest. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

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Whisper1 | 41 other reviews | Nov 10, 2023 |