Carolyn E. Treffinger (October 24, 1891 – January 8, 1991) was an American children's author.

Biography

Treffinger was born on October 24, 1891, in

Seville, Ohio Seville is a village in Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,296 at the 2010 census. History Seville was platted in 1828. It was named after Seville, in Spain. A post office was established in Seville in 1830. Geography ...

. Her parents were Amanda and Noah, and she had three siblings, Raymond, Mable and Glenn. The family lived in

Wadsworth, Ohio Wadsworth is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States. It is counted as part of the Cleveland metropolitan area, although it functions mainly as a suburb of Akron. Founded on March 1, 1814, the city was named after General Elijah Wadsworth, ...

. She graduated from

Wittenberg College Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ...

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northe ...

. She wrote at least three books for children, including ''Rag-Doll Jane: Her Story'' and ''Jimmy's Shoes''. Her most notable work was ''

Li Lun, Lad of Courage ''Li Lun, Lad of Courage'' is a children's novel by Carolyn Treffinger. Set on an island off the coast of China, it tells the story of a boy who tries to survive and grow rice on a barren mountain after being banished from his village. The novel ...

'', which was published in 1947 and won a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist * Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), ...

in 1948. It was illustrated by

Kurt Wiese Kurt Wiese (April 22, 1887 – May 27, 1974) was a German-born book illustrator, who wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors. Background Kurt Wiese was born on April 22, 1887, in Minden, Germa ...

, and also won a

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books annually by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" ...

in 1959. Outside of her literary work, Treffinger was a teacher and principal in Wadsworth. Treffinger died on January 8, 1991, at the age of 99 in

Blue Hill, Nebraska Blue Hill is a town in Webster County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 936 at the 2010 census. History Blue Hill was originally called Belmont, and under the latter name was platted in 1878 when the Burlington and Missouri River ...

. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Bibliography

* ''Rag-Doll Jane: Her Story'': 1930 (illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat) * ''Jimmy's Shoes'': 1934 (illustrated by Ruth C. Collings) * ''

'': 1947 (illustrated by

)

References

1891 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American novelists American children's writers American women novelists Newbery Honor winners 20th-century American women writers {{US-writer-stub