In a School Library Journal review of The Goblins Giggle, Margaret A. Published in 1973, The Goblins Giggle, and Other Stories was the first of many books that would successfully incorporate Bang's fascination with international folklore and legends with her love of mystery and suspense. While working with UNICEF, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard, Bang also began her career as an author and illustrator of books for children by gathering and illustrating a group of tales she had read during her travels overseas.

Bang then returned to travel, going overseas once more to illustrate health manuals for rural health projects organized by UNICEF, the Johns Hopkins Center for Medical Research and Training, and the Harvard Institute for International Research in such cities as Calcutta, India Dacca, Bangladesh and the West-African republic of Mali. She returned to the United States to work on master's degrees in Oriental studies at the University of Arizona and Harvard University. After graduating from Wellesley College with a degree in French, she went to Japan to teach English at Doshisha University in Kyoto for eighteen months. Rackham's illustrations fascinated Bang and inspired her to think that illustration might someday be her profession.įor years Bang kept her dreams of illustrating books in the back of her mind while she pursued a variety of subjects and interests in high school and college. Bang's parents also maintained an extensive library and frequently presented each other with copies of Arthur Rackham's handsomely illustrated books on special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Her mother, Betsy Bang-who, like her daughter, is fluent in several languages-is a writer who adapted and translated several folktales, five of which daughter Molly would eventually illustrate.

Born in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1943, Bang gained a love for books early in her childhood.

The Paper Crane by Molly Bang