Science fiction author John Christopher, best known for his young adult novels about The Tripods, is actually Samuel Youd. Born on April 16th in Lancashire, England, he was a sci-fi enthusiast throughout his youth. His first story was published in an amateur magazine, The Fantast. He greatly admired Aldous Huxley and Arthur C. Clarke. Married, […]
When someone asks about sports books for children, one name immediately springs to mind: Matt Christopher. Born on August 16, 1917, he began writing when he was 14 and won a prize in a short story contest at age 17. Author of more than 130 children’s books and 275 short stories for children, his books […]
John Ciardi was born in 1916 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Italian immigrants. He attended Bates College and Tufts University and received his master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1939. He was the author of more than 40 volumes of poetry, wrote an acclaimed translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, was a regular […]
Bill (William Joseph) Cleaver was born on March 24, 1920 in Hugo, Oklahoma. When he was five years old, he was sent to a boarding school in British Columbia and he stayed there until he was fourteen. He became interested in writing as a child and spent many long hours in the public libraries of […]
Born in Virgil, South Dakota, on January 6th, Vera Cleaver was a team player. After her first book, The Nurse’s Dilemma (1966), most of her magazine articles and 16 novels for children were written with her husband, Bill. They met when he was serving in the US Air Force and their life together took them […]
Born in Depew, New York on June 27th, Lucille Sayles Clifton was raised by parents who made sure their children had plenty of books to read, especially books by African American authors. Ms. Clifton entered Howard University at age 16, graduating with a degree in drama. Writing poetry, and consciously working to write differently than […]
Eleanor Clymer, author of the beloved Trolley Car Family, was born on January 7th, 1906, in New York City. She began making up stories and poems at the age of six and wrote and edited articles for the school magazine in high school. Ms. Clymer received a degree in English from the University of Wisconsin and […]
Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907 in Springdale, PA. During her life she worked as a writer, scientist, and ecologist. She received her love of nature and the living world from her mother. Ms. Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women, today known as Chatham College. She received her master of arts in zoology […]
Lewis Carroll was born on January 27th, 1832, in Daresbury, Chesire, England. He one of eleven children and was homeschooled until the age of twelve. He constantly distinguished himself with honors in his studies. He later studied at Oxford and became a lecturer in Mathematics. He was ordained a deacon, but never received full orders. […]
Natalie Savage Carlson was born on October 3, 1906 in Kernstown, Virginia. After she married, she moved around a great deal as the wife of a Navy officer, living for many years in Paris, France. Her first story was published in the Baltimore Sunday Sun when she was eight years old. Her first book, […]