Celebrating Margaret Wise Brown
April 29, 2026
We’re celebrating Margaret Wise Brown’s 116th birthday (May 23rd) throughout the month of May. A prolific children’s writer, Margaret Wise Brown published over 100 books in her career including Good Night Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and Big Red Barn. “The Runaway Bunny” statue (pictured above) in Wilcox Park was created by Joan Binney Ross in 1998 to honor her works. Over the past 28 years, the Runaway Bunny statue has not only served as a testament to Margaret Wise Brown, but also a welcome space for children to play, friends to meet before a park stroll, and a community monument to our shared love of children’s literature. In 2015, Westerly Library & Wilcox Park was named a Literary Landmark for Margaret Wise Brown after a generous donation of Brown’s personal correspondence, manuscripts, and more was made to our Local History & Special Collections.
Celebrate the acclaimed children’s author with us this month, and join in any of our themed programs, activities and displays for all ages, all month long:
Kids
Monday, 05/04, 9 am-8 pm: Kids Take & Make: The Little Island Sailboat
Wednesdays, 05/6, 05/13, 05/20, & 05/27, 10:00-10:30 am: Storytime: Join us for a different Margaret Wise Brown book featured each week.
Thursday, 05/14, 4-5 pm: Kids Craft Time: Build a Big Red Barn
Saturday, 05/23, 11:00 am-12:30 pm: "Runaway Bunny" Birthday Party
Tweens
All month long:
Stop by our bulletin board to color birds to add to our “Runaway Bunny” park scene.
We’ll have a book display with “Amazing Women Authors”.
Teens
All month long:
DIY Craft Table: Build a poem station; MWB coloring pages; Take & Makes: Zine kits
We’ll have a book display with “Amazing Women Authors”.
All Ages
Beginning 05/01, during library hours: Letterbox in the Library: Honoring “The Runaway Bunny”
On display on Level 1, all month long:
The Margaret Wise Brown display will showcase some of the more interesting pieces in the MWB collection, which was donated to the library in 1957, including published first editions, early drafts of some of her most famous work, and personal photos and letters.
