The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds

A Marginalian Editions rediscovery: Goodnight Moon author Margaret Wise Brown’s little-known, philosophical children’s book about love and loss, lushly illustrated by Ofra Amit.

In 1950, when the love of her life fell gravely ill, Margaret Wise Brown turned to the solace of storytelling, writing a love letter in the form of a children’s book. The Dark Wood of the Golden Birds brings us into a hushed and numinous world, illuminated by Brown’s signature poetic prose.

The story begins near the house of an old man who tends to honeybees and asparagus while living on the edge of a magic forest. Behind his home lies the dark wood—a place from which “there is no return”—where golden birds sing through the night and day. When two orphaned children wander onto his farm, he gives them a home and he warns them never to venture past the edge of the wood. But then the old man falls ill, and the boy decides to brave the unknown in search of the song that he believes can heal him. What secret knowledge will he find there?

With lush new illustrations by Ofra Amit and a foreword by Maria Popova, this rediscovered work of uncommon beauty and tenderness lights a path through love and loss for readers of all ages.