There is no there there.

Gertrude Stein, whose birthday is today, said that. She, of Paris salon fame, American expat, mentor and friend and host to Hemingway, Picasso, Matisse, Fitzgerald, art collector, novelist, poet, and friend and lover to Alice B. Toklas, also wrote a children's book, a collaboration with Clement Hurd, who illustrated it, (as well as Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.) The book has been re-released to celebrate its 75th anniversary. 

Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein in their Paris apartment. Getty Images.

An agent in Paris was eager to have some adult writers write a more sophisticated book for children than was being published at the time. Hemingway, Steinbeck and others declined, but Gertrude said yes indeedy and in fact, already had it pretty much written. 

The book tells the story of a young girl named Rose - "a whimsical tale that delights in wordplay and sound while exploring the ideas of personal identity and individuality." (Amazon book review.) Stein insisted that the book be published on pink paper with blue and white artwork.