Isabel Wilner

Miss Wilner introduced me to the wonders of reading and the Dewey Decimal System. I can still see her sitting at her desk, welcoming her Lida Lee Tall children to the library and suggesting new books to read. I spent the second & third grades under her expert tutelage, then my family moved to Hawaii. We corresponded for some years, and the letter I remember most vividly was when she said I had become old enough to appreciate "The Hobbit." Naturally, I went to the Honolulu Public Library...

She was a special person with unending patience and a genuine love for children. The world is a sadder place now without her.

Isabel was an angel.

I only had the pleasure of Isabel's friendship for the last 15 years. Her apartment in Towson and her house in Tunkhannock were filled from floor to ceiling with...books! She was an inspiration as a lover of literature, a teacher, and a writer. May her memory continue to be a blessing to all who knew her.

I first "met" Isabel in 1989 when my editor, Donna Brooks, at Dutton Children's Books sent me Isabel's manuscript, "B is for Bethlehem" and asked me if I'd be interested in illustrating it. I was charmed by the reverential yet playful tone of the piece and the lyrical quality of the writing. Illustrating the book was a delightful pleasure, as was meeting Isabel in person when she came to San Francisco to attend ALA a few years later. Isabel will live on in her books, in the many people...

I never met Isabel in person, but exchanged Christmas cards with her for many years after I had the privilege of illustrating A Garden Alphabet, one of her children's picture books. She was witty, generous and so friendly to me, a young illustrator living way out in California. I will miss her!

I am so sorry to hear about this. What a treasure she was to all the LLT graduates. I'm sure no one will forget her.

Isabel what a very talented and created person she was, awesome indeed. May she remain in God's love John 5:28,29.