Who wrote 'The Story of Ferdinand'?

Munro Leaf wrote “The Story of Ferdinand.” The 1936 picture book follows Ferdinand, a gentle Spanish bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in a bullring.

Leaf reportedly wrote the story on a whim in 1935, completing it in less than an hour on a yellow legal pad. His friend Robert Lawson provided the illustrations, including views inspired by Ronda in Andalusia. Lawson is sometimes mistakenly credited as the author because his artwork is so central to the book’s identity.

Ferdinand’s refusal to fight was interpreted by some readers as a pacifist message, and the book became politically controversial. It was banned in Spain and burned in Nazi Germany, yet it also gained admirers including Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Walt Disney adapted the story into the 1938 animated short Ferdinand the Bull, which won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject. A later feature film, Ferdinand, appeared in 2017.