Phyllis Krasilovsky, an author of books for young children illustrated by artists including Barbara Cooney, Trina Schart Hyman, and Peter Spier, died on February 26 in Redding, Connecticut at the age of 87. The cause of death was complications from a stroke, as reported in the New York Times. Born Phyllis Manning in Brooklyn on August 28, 1926 to Richard and Florence Manning, Krasilovsky attended James Madison High School and Brooklyn College. Krasilovsky began her storytelling career by making up stories for her husband's five-year-old cousin who was dying of cancer. The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes (Doubleday, 1950), about a procrastinator, before the advent of home dishwashers, and illustrated by Barbara Cooney, was one such story that later became Krasilovsky’s first published book. That was followed by The Very Little Girl (Doubleday, 1953), about a girl worried that she would not grow, illustrated by Ninon MacKnight, who used the pen name "Ninon" for that particular title. One of her most popular titles, The Cow Who Fell into the Canal (Doubleday, 1957) almost wasn't published, according to Peter Spier, who illustrated the book. Spier described meeting with Peggy Lesser, then an editor at Doubleday, to discuss Spier’s first picture book. On Lesser’s desk was a manuscript entitled Anarina, the Dutch Cow, by Krasilovsky, which the editor had already rejected. Spier, who was Dutch, persuaded Lesser to let him take a look at the manuscript. He renamed the cow “Hendrika,” gave the book its current title, and set the story in Broek, Holland, incorporating  many familiar names and places from his childhood. After publication, the book was translated into many languages and is still very popular in the Netherlands, according to Spier. Shortly after Alaska became a U.S. state in 1959,  Krasilovsky wrote Benny's Flag (World, 1960) based on the true story of the boy who won the design contest for Alaska's flag design. Later, she joined forces with illustrator Trina Schart Hyman for The Shy Little Girl (Houghton, 1970) and tried her hand at young adult fiction with The Popular Girls Club (S&S, 1972). A longtime resident of Chappaqua, New York, Krasilovsky and her husband lived in a house once owned by the legendary publisher Maxwell Perkins. The poet and editor Lee Bennett Hopkins, a neighbor of  Krasilovsky, said, "She was funny, witty, eccentric, and wondrous to be with." She is survived by her husband, William Krasilovsky, four children, Alexis, Jessica, Margaret, Peter, and a grandson.