“I was born in this country, but often feel as though I had spent my early years in Europe… I spoke no English until I went to school.”
Wanda Gág was born in 1893 in the immigrant town of New Ulm, Minnesota, a community rooted in German and Bohemian traditions. The settlers there clung to their language and Old World customs—but in the Gág family, one value stood above all else: a deep, abiding love for art.
Wanda’s father, an artist by trade, spent six days a week painting church interiors. On Sundays, he retreated to his attic studio, where he sang folk tunes from his childhood in Germany and painted scenes from his youth—lush forests and pastoral landscapes so vivid that Wanda felt she had stepped right into the fairy tales she adored.
Some of her happiest moments were spent with her grandparents, riding through the Goosetown immigrant neighborhood on the family milk wagon. These early experiences, surrounded by story, song, art, and nature, nurtured Wanda’s imagination and laid the foundation for her creative life.
At night, her mother read her Märchen, short German fairy tales filled with gnomes, fairies, goblins, and other magical beings. These stories enchanted Wanda and lingered in her imagination long after the telling. She began drawing her own versions, attempting to capture their wonder on paper.
But Wanda’s journey was not without hardship. When she was just 15, her father died of a lung disease. Her mother worked tirelessly to support the family, but illness soon overtook her as well. Suddenly, Wanda found herself the head of the household, responsible for her younger siblings.
Despite pressure to leave school and take a job as a store clerk, Wanda insisted on continuing her education, and she ensured her siblings did too. She supported the family through her art, designing greeting cards, teaching in a country school, and submitting stories and illustrations to every magazine she could find. Bit by bit, she held the family together until her sisters graduated and could help share the burden.
This picture book biography is an absolute gem. The illustrations are rich and layered, offering something new with each viewing. Deborah Kogan Ray masterfully captures the fairytale spirit of Wanda Gág’s life, celebrating her resilience, creativity, and determination.
Wanda Gág: The Girl Who Loved to Draw is a must-read for anyone interested in the stories of American immigrants, artists, picture book creators, or Wanda Gág herself. It’s a beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman who refused to give up on her dreams—even when the world told her to.