Garth Williams has worked for almost forty years as an illustrator of children's books; his bibliography includes some of the most distinguished titles published in this century, among them the already-classic Charlotte's Web (1952) and Stuart Little (1945) by E. B. White and the Little House series (1932-1943) by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which Williams illustrated for republication in the 1950s. Williams's professional life has been astonishingly productive. He claims to hate work and to do it only because of economic necessity; if this is true, economic necessity has inspired illustrations of unfailing skill and outstanding imaginative quality. At his best, Williams is unsurpassed as a gifted illustrator and interpreter.

Garth Montgomery Williams was born in New York City to English parents, both of whom were artists. He was taken to France as a baby, returned at about the age of two, went to Canada at six, and at ten, went...