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47 charming facts about children's books

47 charming facts about children's books

Did you know the tragic children's classic Bridge to Terabithia has an even more heartbreaking backstory? Katherine Paterson, the novel's author, lost a childhood friend to a lightning strike at just eight years old.

Our friends at Mental Floss have compiled 46 other facts about children's books, and fortunately, the rest are much more lighthearted: The Phantom Tollbooth, for example, doesn't have a single illustration of Milo actually in a tollbooth, and Margaret Wise Brown left all the proceeds from Goodnight Moon to her 9-year-old neighbor. In between facts, John Green also throws in a few tidbits about his own works.

Watch the fun, fact-filled video below. --Meghan DeMaria