What Was the Secret to Betty White’s Success?
A children’s book offers a timeless answer: ‘She studies, prepares, and works hard.’
You’re never too young to fall in love with Betty White: This is the appealing subtext of My Little Golden Book About…Betty White, an upbeat picture-book biography for ages 2 to 5.
Author Deborah Hopkinson and illustrator Margeaux Lucas stay faithful to the gentle spirit of the Little Golden Books series in this sunnyside-up life of the actress, who died last week at the age of 99. In just 24 pages, they cover her childhood in California, her early years in television, her marriage to Password host Allen Ludden, and her acclaimed roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls and as a guest host of Saturday Night Live.
Without preaching, Hopkinson shows what White had to do succeed in Hollywood and in life. “Betty was bright, talented, beautiful, and funny, but she had to work hard to find jobs,” she writes. Hopkinson adds later on: “She studies, prepares, and works hard. That’s one reason she’s one of the most successful stars in television history!”
Not that White faced no setbacks. “When she was young, Betty wanted to be a forest ranger or a zookeeper,” Hopkinson says. “But those careers weren’t open to girls at that time.”
Some of the most colorful sections involve White’s well-known love of animals such as Koko, the lowland gorilla famous for its ability to use sign language. Hopkinson writes:
“Betty has also been lucky enough to meet some creatures that are just as famous as she is, including Koko the gorilla. Koko knew more than a thousand words in sign language. In fact, Koko gave Betty the name Lipstick. She made the sign for the word whenever Betty came to visit.”
The literary scholar Perry Nodelman has noted that the Little Golden Books “sacrifice details in order to focus on the typical,” images or archetypes the widest range of children can appreciate. That’s true of this recent entry in the venerable series of books, noted for their patterned golden spines and nearly…
