Howard Pyle's innovative contributions to children's literature are of paramount importance. His name became synonymous with high artistic standards in book format and in periodical illustration. He not only created graphics to complement children's stories; he also trained many of the fine American artists whose works dominated the American children's book field during the early twentieth century. Pyle's understanding of classical children's literature far surpassed that of most of his contemporaries. An American who recreated English legend, Pyle steeped himself in historic detail before beginning either his stories or his illustrations. As one critic commented, "Pyle was exceptionally versatile, working with equal ease in themes from folk tales, high Gothic romance, Colonial history ... and children's fantasies, and was in each genre, ultimately, a master of exquisite mood and powerful design."

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1853, Howard Pyle was of Quaker ancestry. Pyle's own childhood, in a community which...