Robert E. Barry, Author and Illustrator

October 7, 1931- November 18, 2012

Born in Newport, and a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, author and illustrator Robert E. Barry was a beloved and most modest man-about-town who loved libraries and often shared his favorite articles, stories, and drawings with lucky librarians. My personal favorite—after his own drawings and notes—was the December 28, 2007 New York Times article entitled “The Library’s Helpful Sage of the Stacks,” about the New York Public Library librarian, David Smith, whose business card reads “Librarian to the Stars.”  Robert Barry was one of Newport’s stars.  One of his earlier books, Faint George, was selected by the New York Times as one of the Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year in 1957.   His book Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree was originally published in 1963 by Doubleday.  In the year 2000, Doubleday requested new color illustrations and published a new edition of the book.  It became a New York Times bestseller.

Throughout his career as a writer, illustrator, and teacher, Mr. Barry lived in Germany, Switzerland, and the Caribbean.  He taught in the design department at the University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth.  He lived in Newport for many years and was a longtime member of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.

The following books by Robert E. Barry are found in the Redwood Library’s collections:

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree

Snowman’s Secret

Next Please

Ramon and the Pirate Gull

The Musical Palm Tree

This is the Story of Faint George Who Wanted to be a Knight

Rowena Dunlap Burke

Redwood Library and Athenaeum

December 13, 2012

Always Carry a Pen & Pad

September 5, 2012

I've learned many things from my father: foremost is to never leave the house without a pen and a small pocket-size notebook.  Since age seven, I've rarely left the house unarmed.

It's handy for jotting down the big ideas and the small details that might escape one at a moment's notice.

The autumn that I was twenty-one, I decided to go to sea as a cook.  My culinary skills were rudimentary.  My wanderlust was legendary.  I signed on for a journey from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda to deliver a wealthy man's yacht to warmer climes.

My father gave me a ride to the dock and escorted me to the boat.  He hung out and chatted with the guys for about twenty minutes and then he was off to his own endeavors.  It was, on the surface, all friendly banter, but I knew that he'd already written down all the basic details about these fellows.  And I'd heard it all first hand.

So the second night out, when I felt a large beast crawl into my berth in the middle of the night, I told him in no uncertain terms that my father would contact his Methodist minister father in upstate New York pronto.  And, alas, what a swift retreat!

Always carry a pen and pad.  And ask the right questions in a superfluous manner.