Marianne Carus

Marianne Carus (June 16, 1928 – March 3, 2021) was a German-born American editor and publisher known for creating the children's magazine Cricket.

Responding to educators who were using the basic readers created by her and her husband, Carus began outlining a children's literary magazine. She was inspired by St. Nicholas, started in 1873 and edited by Mary Mapes Dodge.

Carus served as editor-in-chief of the publications for more than 35 years. While other children's publications at the time avoided topics that could be considered "edgy," Carus tried to make Cricket reflect gender and ethnic diversity, often specifically soliciting stories about girls to balance the existing stories she had.

Early life and education Carus was born on June 16, 1928, in Dieringhausen, Germany, to Dr. Günther Sondermann (a descendant of Johann Wilhelm Sondermann), an ophthalmologist, and Elisabeth Sondermann (née Gesell). She grew up in Gummersbach, Germany. She married Milton Blouke Carus on March 3, 1951. The couple had three children and often spent time in Germany. Carus was unsatisfied with the overly simplistic books their children brought home from school in the United States compared to what they were reading in German schools. Together with her husband, whose family owned Open Court Publishing Company, she created a set of books called the Open Court Basic Readers for elementary school students learning to read in 1963.