Children's author and illustrator of Baby Llama stories dies

A best-selling children's author and illustrator who gained fame with her series of Baby Llama stories has died. Anna Dewdney was 50.

A spokeswoman for her publisher, Penguin Young Readers, says Dewdney died Saturday at her home in Chester, Vermont. She had a 15-month battle with brain cancer.

Dewdney began to gain success in the 1990s as the illustrator of "The Peppermint Race" by Dian Curtis Regan and other children's books. She gained her greatest success with the series that began with the 2005 launch of "Llama Llama Red Pajama."

That story of Baby Llama's difficulties getting to sleep at bedtimes was a hit with critics and readers alike.

Dewdney also was a well-known advocate for children's literacy.