Margery Williams Bianco

Margery Williams Bianco (1881–1944) was an English-born American author of children's books. Born in London, she lost her father, a barrister and classical scholar, at seven, moved with her family to the United States and published her first novel at nineteen. After years in England and Italy with her husband, the bookseller Francesco Bianco, she returned to New York in 1921 and the following year published The Velveteen Rabbit, the story of a toy made real by a child's love, which became her best-known work. Later books include Poor Cecco, The Little Wooden Doll, illustrated by her daughter Pamela Bianco, and Winterbound, a Newbery Honor book.