Robert N. Munsch

Robert Norman Munsch (born June 11, 1945) is an American-born Canadian children's author. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he moved to Canada in 1975 to work at the University of Guelph. His unique storytelling style comes from interactively developing stories with children, taking events from their lives and experience and greatly exaggerating them into the realm of the ridiculous and sometimes fantastical. He has received a Juno Award, induction into the Order of Canada, a star in Canada's Walk of Fame, and has two public schools in Ontario named after him. His books have sold millions of copies, and he has the dubious honour of being the most stolen author in the Toronto Public Library system.

Early life and education

Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1945. He grew up in a family of nine children. Munsch graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

Career

When Munsch was 18, he studied to become a Jesuit priest in Westchester County, New York. After volunteering at an orphanage as part of his training, he decided he would rather work with children. He studied early childhood education at Tufts University. Upon graduating in 1973, he worked at a day care in Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, and learned that he could "get the kids to shut up during nap time by telling them stories". At the job he met his future wife, Ann, while changing a diaper. He moved to Canada in 1975 to work at the Family Studies department at the University of Guelph in Ontario. In Guelph, he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.

One of Munsch's best-known books, Love You Forever, was listed fourth on the 2001 Publishers Weekly All-Time Bestselling Children's Books list for paperbacks at 6.97 million copies (not including the 1.049 million hardcover copies). It has since sold over 30 million copies and has been featured on the episode "The One With the Cake" from the NBC television show Friends, as well as being mentioned by talk show host Oprah Winfrey on Late Night with David Letterman as being her favourite children's book. Munsch's other famous book, the feminist themed The Paper Bag Princess, has sold over seven million copies and is considered a literary classic.

Storytelling performances

Munsch is known for his exuberant storytelling methods, with exaggerated expressions and acted voices. He considers himself a storyteller who sometimes wrote things down. The stories he published were made up in front of audiences and refined them through repeated tellings. Across Munsch's stories, the characters are based on the children to whom he first told the story, including his own children. Munsch often performed at children's festivals and appears at elementary schools, sometimes unannounced.

In 1991, some of his books were adapted into an animated TV series A Bunch of Munsch, made in Montreal and airing on pay TV channels.

Personal life

Munsch and his wife, Ann, have been married since the early 1970s. They were unable to have biological children, and two pregnancies ended in stillbirths. The couple has three children via adoption.

Munsch has obsessive–compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder. In August 2008, he suffered a stroke that temporarily affected his ability to speak. In 2009, he revealed that he was in recovery for alcoholism and a cocaine addiction that had started in 2005, and at the time of the announcement he was four months sober.

In October 2021, Munsch announced that he had been diagnosed with dementia. He received approval for medical assistance in dying in September 2025 after applying five years prior, following his diagnosis. His daughter clarified that the approval did not mean his death was imminent. In December 2025, Munsch revealed that he had about 50 unpublished stories, and hopes to release one per year following his death.

Awards and honours

In 1985, Munsch won a Juno Award for his portrayal of "Murmel, Murmel, Munsch: More Outrageous Stories". In 1992, he was also chosen "Author of the Year" by the Canadian Booksellers' Association. In 1999, Munsch was made a Member of the Order of Canada. On June 17, 2009, it was announced that Munsch would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009, and in 2013, his star was revealed on King Street in Toronto. Two public schools in Ontario are named after Munsch: the Robert Munsch Public School in Whitby, Ontario, and the Robert Munsch Public School in Mount Albert, Ontario. Munsch was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Guelph in 2000.