From the Birthday Book

Try our Authors and Illustrators area for information about CLN members. There's an alphabetical list as well.

Our alphabetically-arranged Birthday Bios page features authors and illustrators, current and past, with short biographies.

We thank our author and illustrator biography researchers, volunteers who write these informative articles about authors and illustrators, past and present: Lois Thompson Bartholomew, Terri DeGezelle, Juli Friedberg, Heidi Grosch, Sydney Lange, Steve Mudd, Vicki Palmquist, Leslie Greaves Radloff, Karen Ritz, Mary Rude, Julie G. Schuster, Christina Semsch, Martha Valainis

What would childhood be without the playful Dennis the Menace? He has become part of the American cartoon legacy and for that we can thank creator Hank Ketcham, who was born on March 14, 1920. A skillful draftsman from childhood, Ketcham dropped out of college in 1938 to work for animator Walter Lantz, creator of the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Later he went to work for Disney (on Pinocchio and Fantasia) before joining the navy during WWII. His son Dennis was born in 1947 and by the age of four he was "too young for school, too big for his playpen, too small to hit, not old enough for jail." Raising him became overwhelming for Ketcham who instead turned to his own version of what a boy should be, Dennis the Menace. By the end of 1951 his strip was in over 100 papers and ranked with Beetle Bailey and Peanuts as one of the top comics of its time. As popularity grew, Ketcham let others do the work, only overseeing the final product. He turned to art, painting the subjects that were his passions; jazz and heroic athletes. His autobiography The Merchant of Dennis (1992) is an interesting reflection on his career. Mr. Ketcham died on June 1, 2001.

—Heidi Grosch

Thomas Rockwell celebrates his birthday on March 13th. Rockwell moved from New York to rural Vermont when he was five years old. His father (Norman!) was an artist, his mother an unpublished writer, his older brother became an artist, and his younger brother, a sculptor. Thomas majored in literature at Bard College and worked for a gardening magazine in New York before moving to Poughkeepsie, NY to help his father write his autobiography.

Thomas published his first children's book in 1969, Rackety-Bang and Other Verses. It received such crushing reviews that his publisher declined his next book of verse. Rockwell switched to novels and How To Eat Fried Worms, published in 1973, won ten awards.

Over the years, Rockwell has taught, sold second-hand books, worked for War on Poverty, and tried sporadically and half-heartedly to write for television and advertising to support his passion.

—Karen Ritz

Johann David Wyss, born on March 13, 1743, was a chaplain in the Swiss army and served in Italy. He is credited with writing Swiss Family Robinson but the story of family involvement only begins there.

Johann David Wyss had four sons who loved to hear stories based on Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. The Swiss Family Robinson differed from Robinson Crusoe in that a whole family was shipwrecked. From this, a father could use the opportunity to teach his children values of life and civilization.

The family discussed these stories and then took turns making up their own tales of adventure. Each boy took turns telling their tale and their father would write the stories down. One of the sons, Johann Emmanuel Wyss illustrated the adventures with drawings and watercolors. Years later, another son, Johann Rudolph Wyss edited his father's work and submitted it for publication.

The first English translation appeared in 1814 and since then the immensely popular book has appeared in over two hundred editions in English.

Incidentally, Johann Rudolph Wyss went on to write the Swiss national anthem.

—Terri DeGezelle

Ellen Raskin, who was born on March 13, 1928, began her career as an illustrator and designer, freelancing for the Saturday Evening Post and pharmaceutical journals. During her early career she created over 1,000 book jackets, including the Newbery winner A Wrinkle In Time (1963) by Madeline L'Engle.

But writing was always in her blood and after 15 years as an illustrator she published her own book Nothing Ever Happens on My Block (1966). "As far back as I can remember," she wrote, " I invented characters. My sister and I would spend weeks at a time acting out the lives of at least 10 character each." Her delightful word play won her a Newbery all her own with The Westing Game (1979).

"I try to say one thing with my work: A book is a wonderful place to be. A book is a package, a gift package, a surprise package—and within the wrappings is a whole new world and beyond."

—Heidi Grosch

We wish Diane (Sorber) Dillon a happy birthday on March 13th. She grew up on the West Coast and attended Parsons School of Design in New York, which is where she met Leo Dillon. They were married one year after they graduated and have since melded their separate careers into one career, which they refer to as the "third artist," in order to avoid professional jealousy.

Their first illustrated children's book was The Ring and the Prairie, which was published in 1970.They are the only artists to win the Caldecott medal two years in a row: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears in 1976 and Ashanti to Zulu in 1977.

They are also recipients of four Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards, two Coretta Scott King Awards, the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and the Hugo Award in 1971 for science fiction book illustration.

The couple have one son and they live in New York City.

—Martha Valainis

Dorothy Keely Aldis was born in Chicago on March 13, 1896. Her father was a newspaper editor and the young Dorothy lived around books and the written word her entire life. She wrote books and poetry for adults and children, but her children's work is still remembered today. Her poems may be found in books such as All the Year Around (1938), The Boy Who Cared (1956), and Hiding (1920), were extremely popular. She had four children and lived in Lake Forest, Illinois, until she died at age 70.

—Vicki Palmquist

Born in Saint Louis, Missouri on March 12th, Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet, an essayist, a songwriter, and the author of many wonderful books for children.

Her first poem was published when she was seven years old!

She has a Palestinian-American background and she was fortunate to grow up in Saint Louis, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas. She draws on her rich experiences traveling the world to create books that promote international good will. Her poetry is rich and beloved by many.

She has won the Guggenheim Fellowship, two Jane Addams' Children's Book Awards and the Lavan Award from the American Academy of Poets.

Her books include the autobiographical YA novel, Habibi, as well as 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, This Same Sky, and Hugging the Jukebox.

—Vicki Palmquist

Virginia Hamilton was born on March 12th, 1936, on a farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio. As a writer, she achieved critical success from the start with the publication of her first book, Zeely. Her great storytelling voice did not die with her in January of 2002, and I thought it best you hear from her ...

"I see my books and the language I use in them as empowering me to give utterance to the dreams, the wishes, of African Americans. I see the imaginative use of language and ideas as a way to illuminate the human condition. All of my work, as a novelist, a biographer, creator and compiler of stories, has been to portray the essence of a people who are a parallel-culture society in America. I've attempted to mark the history and traditions of African Americans, a parallel culture people, through my writing, while bringing readers strong stories and memorable characters living nearly the best they know how. I want readers, both adults and children, to care about who the characters are. I want readers to feel, to understand, and to empathize. I want the books to make a world in which the characters are real."

—Karen Ritz

Ezra Jack Keats was born on March 11, 1916, in Brooklyn, NY. He began drawing at the age of five and recalls covering his mother's enamel-topped kitchen table with drawings and doodles. Instead of being angry, his mother protected it with a tablecloth and unveiled it for guests. Keats taught himself to paint and was awarded three scholarships to art schools upon graduating from high school. He served in the Air Force during WW2, and worked as an illustrator, his first assignment for Collier Magazine.

With his strong graphics and vibrant colors, Keats was quickly drawn to children's books. He illustrated nearly a dozen before writing his first, The Snowy Day, which was awarded the 1963 Caldecott Medal. The book was significant because it was one of the first picture books in which a minority child is seen as Everychild. This child, Peter, was inspired by Life magazine pictures that Keats had held onto for forty years.

Keats died in 1983, but his philosophy remains poignant today, "If we all could see each other exactly as the other is, this would be a different world. But first I think we have to begin to see each other."

—Karen Ritz

John Wellington (Jack) Kent, was born on March 10, 1920 in Burlington, Iowa. He dropped out of high school to start working as a freelance commercial artist. At age 15, he sold some of his work to Collier's agency. He served in World War II, and then returned to the States to work in a printing plant. In 1950, his first syndicated comic strip appeared: "King Aroo," and it was distributed internationally for the next 15 years. He and his wife, newspaper report June Kilstofte, lived in San Antonio, Texas. In 1968 he began writing and illustrating children's books. He died of leukemia in 1985. His work can be viewed at the Kerlan Collection at the Children's Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota.

—Vicki Palmquist

Born and raised near Baldwin, Wisconsin, Alexandria LaFaye celebrates her birthday on March 9th. Currently an assistant professor Hollins and Hamline Universities, Alexandria has written eight middle-grade novels, three of them featuring Nissa Bergen. Strength of Saints, her third book about Nissa, is her most recent volume in that series. Her book, Edith Shay, is about a young woman from rural Wisconsin who seeks adventure in the world and finds it. Worth, which looks at the orphan train era from the point of view of a farm boy whose family adopts an orphan, won the 2005 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Her most recent novel is Stella Stands Alone.

In her teaching, Alexandria holds classes in children's literature and creative writing, two topics she knows firsthand. She is an associate professor at both Hollins University and Hamline University in the master of fine arts in writing for children and young adults.

She lives in Arkansas, where she enjoys gardening and playing board games.

—Vicki Palmquist

Celebrating her birthday on March 9th, author Ellen Levine is well-known for her many fiction and nonfiction books. She speaks frequently around the country, sharing her joy in research.

Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories was named one of The New York Times Ten Best Children's Books of the Year. Other titles include If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island, I Hate English!, and Secret Missions.

Ms. Levine lives in Salem, New York.

—Vicki Palmquist

Celebrating his birthday on March 8th, Peter Roop has written more than 60 children's books with his wife, Connie. Seven of their books have been selected by Reading Rainbow, including Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie. Peter has written extensively for Cricket and Cobblestone magazines.

Named Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year, and recipient of Wisconsin's Laura Ingalls Wilder Book Award,

Peter Roop lives with his wife and two children in Wisconsin.

—Vicki Palmquist

Lore Segal, born on March 8th, 1928 in Vienna, Austria, has written more than 20 books for children and several highly respected novels for adults. We know her best for writing Tell Me a Mitzi and Tell Me a Trudy, and the well-regarded The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. If you have seen the documentary, Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, then you are familiar with another side of her work. This is her story, a part of her childhood. She was one of 10,000 Austrian, German, and Czech children whom the British government brought to England, by train, for safety before World War II. In 1938, when she was 10 years old, she was taken from her parents and placed on the Kindertransport. She stayed in Dovercourt Camp in England until a foster home was found for her. This ten-year-old spent much of her time writing to the London refugee committee, pleading with them to bring her parents to England. She was successful in her request. Her parents became a cook and a butler in the south of England. Soon after the war began, her father was taken to the Isle of Man and isolated as a "German-speaking enemy alien." After having a stroke, he was released, but he died during the last week of the War. Lore and her mother moved to the Dominican Republic after the war, and finally to America.

She has taught writing at Columbia, Princeton, the University of Illinois, Bennington College, Sarah Lawrence, and Ohio State. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ms. Segal has published reviews in the New York Times Book Review and stories in The New Yorker. The Chicago Tribune said of her, "Lore Segal is. . . one of those rare people who combine art, eccentricity, honesty, and wisdom and who, by a change of tone, an altered inflection, produce such enchanting effects that the listener is swept along."

—Vicki Palmquist

We wish author Dara Sanders Dokas a happy birthday on March 8th. Born in Minneapolis, she was raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, from which she first graduated with majors in English, as well as Theatre and Drama, and later earned her master's degree and secondary teaching license. She taught junior and senior high at Open School in Saint Paul, where she was also the drama coach. She feels honored for being voted "Most Influential Teacher" two years in a row. Dara's favorite plays are West Side Story and Alice in Wonderland. She's an actress, too, and particularly enjoyed playing "Anita" in West Side Story and "Narrator" in Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Dara has been writing for several years and enjoys writing classes and groups. Her book, Muriel's Red Sweater, was recently published by Chronicle Books.

Dara and her husband are the proud parents of one daughter. Dara is currently working on future books and teaching at the Minnesota Historical Society's Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.