Cynthia Rylant (born June 6, 1954) is an American author and librarian. She has written more than 100 children's books, including works of fiction ( picture books, short stories and novels), nonfiction, and poetry. Several of her books have won awards, including her novel ''

Missing May ''Missing May'' is a children's book, the recipient of the 1993 Newbery Medal. It was written by Cynthia Rylant, who has written over 100 children's books such as ''The Islander''. Plot The novel is set in present-day West Virginia. The protag ...

'', which won the 1993 Newbery Medal, and ''A Fine White Dust'', which was a 1987 Newbery Honor book. Two of her books are

Caldecott Honor Book The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Servic ...

Early life

Rylant was born in Hopewell, West Virginia, the daughter of a U.S. Army veteran, John Tune Smith, and Leatrel Smith ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Rylant. Rylant uses her mother's maiden name as her pen name. She spent her first four years in Illinois. Her parents separated when she was four years old, and she was sent to live with her mother's parents in

Cool Ridge, West Virginia Cool Ridge is an unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Cool Ridge is located on U.S. Route 19, south of Shady Spring Shady Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in Raleigh County, West Virginia, Unit ...

, while her mother attended nursing school and was able to visit her only a few times a year."Cynthia Rylant"
, Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library at West Virginia Wesleyan College, accessed 11 February 2013Antonucci, Ron. "A Talk with 1993 Newbery Medallist Cynthia Rylant", ''School Library Journal'', May 1993, p. 26 Growing up in the

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n region of the U.S. during the 1960s, Rylant lived in a very depressed economic environment. Her grandparents, extended family and kind local townspeople provided a nurturing, safe environment, while the little girl "waited ... until someone could return for me", but they were very poor and lived a rustic life, with no electricity, running water or automobiles. As a result, she never saw children's books as a child, reading mainly comic books and enjoying the outdoors. Four years later, she moved back with her mother, who had relocated to nearby Beaver, West Virginia. There had been no libraries or bookstores in Cool Ridge, and there were none in Beaver.Rylant (1994), pp. 193–199 Rylant never saw her father again, and he died when she was thirteen years old in 1967. She later wrote, "I did not have a chance to know him or to say goodbye to him, and that is all the loss I needed to become a writer." When she was nine years old, Rylant fell in love with Paul McCartney and The Beatles. However, her West Virginia childhood was the major influence on her works, and many of them deal with life in the Appalachian region."Cynthia Rylant"
, Greater Dayton Public Television, 2004, accessed 11 February 2013 As a teenager, Rylant became enchanted with Robert F. Kennedy, whom she met during his presidential campaign. She was deeply affected by his assassination. Also important to her emotional development was her relationship with a boy from school. Rylant earned a

B.A. degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate education, undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally complet ...

from Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in 1975 and a

M.A. degree A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Marshall University in 1976, discovering and studying English literature and greatly enjoying her years in school. In 1977, she married Kevin Dolin. Unable to find a job in her field after completing college, she first worked as a waitress and later as a librarian at the

Cabell County Cabell County is located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,350, making it West Virginia's fourth most-populous county. Its county seat is Huntington. The county was organized in 1809 and named for ...

Public Library in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, where she finally became acquainted with children's books. She taught English part-time at Marshall University in 1979 and wrote her first book, '' When I Was Young in the Mountains'', based on her experiences as a young child living in the country with her grandparents. The picture book, which Rylant later said took her an hour to complete, earned an American Book Award in 1982 and was a Caldecott Honor Book. Her marriage with Dolin ended in 1980, and she earned a Master's degree in Library Science from Kent State University in 1981. She lived in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...

, for many years, working as a librarian at the Cincinnati Public Library. She later moved to Akron, Ohio, and worked at the Akron Public Library while teaching English part-time at the University of Akron. During the early 1980s, she was married briefly to a professor at the University of Akron.

Career and later years

Rylant followed her inaugural effort with six more picture books based on her childhood experiences. Her 1983 book, ''Miss Maggie'', deals with themes of aging. Her first poetry collection, ''Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood'' (1984), was also autobiographical, based on both happy and sad events or on people she knew, drawing universal emotions from the incisive portraits. Rylant became interested in writing poetry when she read some poetry in college by

David Huddle David Ross Huddle (born July 11, 1942) is an American writer and professor. His poems, essays, and short stories have appeared in ''The New Yorker'', '' Esquire'', '' Harper's Magazine'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''Story'', ''The Autumn H ...

. She said of his ''Paper Boy'', that the strong characters were "People whose lives are hard but are proud of who and what they are." In 1985, Rylant decided to write full-time. Her first novel, ''A Blue-eyed Daisy'' (1985), describes a year in the life of a young girl, including such events as her first kiss and the funeral of a classmate, and her relationship with her father, who, like Rylant's real-life grandfather, is injured in an accident and loses his job. Her 1986 book, ''The Relatives Came'', describes how she slept on the floor when company visited. The same year, she published one of her most well-received books, ''A Fine White Dust''. This young adult novel portrays a boy who becomes a disciple to a charismatic preacher, leaving his parents and friends. When the preacher runs off with a young woman, the boy, despite his feelings of betrayal, strengthens his faith in God and discovers a more realistic view of human nature. The book was named a Newbery Honor book. In 1987, Rylant published the first of her popular ''Henry and Mudge'' series books, ''Henry and Mudge: The First Book''. In this book for beginning readers, Henry, an only child, forms a deep attachment with a puppy who grows to be an enormous drooling dog, Mudge. When Mudge is lost, Henry is despondent, and when he is recovered, the two are overjoyed. Since then, she has published dozens more Henry and Mudge books, as well as picture books, books for older readers, including young adult novels and story collections, and collections of poetry. Her critically praised 2004 picture book, ''Long Night Moon'', describes the different moons that Native American cultures use to mark the changing seasons. 1995's ''The Van Gogh Cafe'' is one of the author's favorites. Her books often deal with the joys and hardships of family life, with animals and the outdoors, especially in the Appalachian region, and her characters are often loners or people facing hardships. Her 1991 non-fiction picture book for older readers, ''Appalachia; The Voices of Sleeping Birds'', is a vivid picture of life in Appalachia and the warmth of its people. Rylant's 1992 young adult novel, ''

'', is a touching story about a girl who lives with relatives after the death of her mother and who must comfort her uncle after the death of his beloved wife. Beginning in the early 1990s, Rylant has published several series designed for younger readers, including the Lighthouse Family, High-rise Private Eyes, and Everyday Books series, the last of which is a series for very young children that she illustrated herself. She also illustrated several of her other books, including the playful ''Dog Heaven'' (1995), about an ideal dog afterlife. Other poetry collections have been ''God Went to Beauty School'' (2003) and ''Boris'' (2005).

Personal life

For a period she was in a romantic relationship with Dav Pilkey, author of '' Captain Underpants''. In 1993, Rylant relocated to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, with her son from her first marriage."Book Corner"
''South Coast Today'', ''The Standard-Times'', 17 August 2002, p. C7, accessed 18 July 2013 In 2003, she moved to Portland, Oregon.

Honors

Rylant has received a number of awards and honors for her work. ''A Fine White Dust'' (1987) won a Newbery Honor, and ''

'' (1993) won a Newbery Medal. ''When I Was Young in the Mountains'' (1982) and ''The Relatives Came'' (1985) received Caldecott Honors. ''The Relatives Came'' and ''Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds'' (1991) are each Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Books, as is ''Missing May'', which deals with the loss of a loved one. ''A Kindness'' (1988), ''Soda Jerk'' (1990), and ''A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories about Love'' (1990) have each been named a "Best Book of the Year for Young Adults" by the American Library Association.

Works

* 1979 '' When I Was Young in the Mountains'' * 1982 ''Miss Maggie'' * 1983 ''This Year's Garden'' * 1984 ''Waiting to Waltz....a Childhood'' (poetry) * 1985 ''A Blue-Eyed Daisy'' (a novel; also published as ''Some Year for Ellie'') * 1985 '' Every Living Thing'' (stories) * 1985 ''Stray'' (short story) * 1986 ''A Fine White Dust'' (novel) * 1986 ''Night in the Country'' * 1986 ''The Relatives Came'' * 1987 ''Birthday Presents'' * 1987 ''Children of Christmas: Stories for the Season'' * 1988 ''All I See'' * 1988 ''A Kindness'' (novel) * 1989 ''Mr. Griggs' Work'' * 1990 ''A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories about Love'' * 1990 ''Soda Jerk'' (poetry) * 1991 ''Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds'' (nonfiction, Illustrations by

Barry Moser Barry Moser (born 1940) is an American artist and educator, known as a printmaker specializing in wood engravings, and an illustrator of numerous works of literature. He is also the owner and operator of the Pennyroyal Press, an engraving and smal ...

) * 1992 ''An Angel for Solomon Singer'' * 1992 ''

'' * 1992 ''Best Wishes'' * 1993 ''

I Had Seen Castles ''I Had Seen Castles'' is a 1993 novella for young adults by the American writer and Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant Cynthia Rylant (born June 6, 1954) is an American author and librarian. She has written more than 100 children's books, in ...

'' (novel) * 1993 ''The Dreamer'' * 1994 ''The Blue Hill Meadows'' * 1994 ''The Old Woman Who Named Things'' * 1994 ''Something Permanent'' (poetry) * 1995 ''Dog Heaven'' * 1995 ''Gooseberry Park'' * 1995 ''The Van Gogh Cafe'' * 1996 ''The Bookshop Dog'' (who will care for a dog when her owner becomes ill?) * 1996 ''Margaret, Frank, and Andy: Three Writers' Stories'', biographical stories (three volumes): ''A Story of

Margaret Wise Brown Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' and ''The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" for ...

'', ''A Story of L. Frank Baum'', and ''A Story of E. B. White''. * 1996 ''The Whales'' * 1997 ''Cat Heaven'' * 1997 ''Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story'' (a rich man gives gifts to poor children in Appalachia) * 1998 ''Bear Day'' * 1998 ''The Bird House'' * 1998 ''Bless Us All: A Child's Yearbook of Blessings'' * 1998 ''

The Islander Islander, Islanders, or The Islanders may refer to: People * Islander, referring to Jersey people * Islander, New Zealand-English term usually meaning Pacific Islander Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''The Islander'' (Rylant novel), ...

'' (novel) * 1998 ''Scarecrow'' * 1998 ''Tulip Sees America'' (a young man and his dog see the farms and mountains of America) * 1999 ''Bunny Bungalow'' * 1999 ''The Cookie-Store Cat'' * 1999 ''Give Me Grace: A Child's Daybook of Prayers'' * 1999 ''The Heavenly Village'' * 2000 ''In November'' * 2000 ''Thimbleberry Stories'' * 2000 ''The Wonderful Happens'' * 2001 ''Good Morning, Sweetie Pie and Other Poems for Little Children'' * 2001 ''The Great Gracie Chase'' * 2001 ''Let's Go Home: The Wonderful Things About a House'' * 2002 ''

Old Town in the Green Groves ''Old Town in the Green Groves'', by Cynthia Rylant, is a novel based on some notes left by Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little ...

'' * 2002 ''The Ticky-Tacky Doll'' * 2003 ''God Went to Beauty School'' (poetry) * 2004 ''Long Night Moon'' * 2005 ''The Stars Will Shine Tonight'' * 2005 ''Puppies and Piggies'' * 2005 ''Miracles in Motion'' * 2005 ''If You'll Be My Valentine'' * 2005 ''Boris'' (poetry) * 2006 ''Ludie's Life'' * 2007 "Alligator Boy" * 2009 ''All in a Day'' * 2012 " A Crush" * 2017 ''Life'' * 2018 ''Rosetown''

Autobiography

* ''But I'll Be Back Again; An Album'' (1989) New York: Scholastic * Something about the Author autobiography series (1994), Vol. 76, Detroit, MI: Gale Research

Children's book series

Annie and Snowball * 2007 ''Book 1: Annie and Snowball and the Dress-up Birthday'' * 2007 ''Book 2: Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House'' * 2008 ''Book 3: Annie and Snowball and the Teacup Club'' * 2008 ''Book 4: Annie and Snowball and the Pink Surprise'' * 2009 ''Book 5: Annie and Snowball and the Cozy Nest'' * 2009 ''Book 6: Annie and Snowball and the Shining Star'' * 2010 ''Book 7: Annie and Snowball and the Magical House'' * 2010 ''Book 8: Annie and Snowball and the Wintry Freeze'' * 2011 ''Book 9: Annie and Snowball and Book Bugs Club'' * 2011 ''Book 10: Annie and Snowball and the Thankful Friends'' * 2012 ''Book 11: Annie and Snowball and the Surprise Day'' * 2012 ''Book 12: Annie and Snowball and the Grandmother Night'' * 2014 ''Book 13: Annie and Snowball and the Wedding Day'' Cobble Street Cousins * 1998 ''In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen'' * 1998 ''A Little Shopping'' * 1999 ''Special Gifts'' * 1999 ''Some Good News'' * 2001 ''Summer Party'' * 2002 ''Wedding Flowers'' Everyday * 1993 ''Everyday Children'' * 1993 ''Everyday Garden'' * 1993 ''Everyday House'' * 1993 ''Everyday Pets'' * 1993 ''Everyday School'' * 1993 ''Everyday Town'' * 1997 ''An Everyday Book''

Henry and Mudge Henry and Mudge is a series of American children's books written by Newbery Medal winner Cynthia Rylant and published by Simon & Schuster. The series is a common read found in curricula for 2nd and 3rd grade. The series is illustrated by Suçie St ...

The High Rise Private Eyes * ''The High Rise Private Eyes #1: The Case of the Missing Monkey'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes #2: The Case of the Climbing Cat'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Puzzling Possum'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Troublesome Turtle'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Sleepy Sloth'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Fidgety Fox'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Baffled Bear'' * ''The High Rise Private Eyes: The Case of the Desperate Duck'' Little Whistle * 2001 ''Little Whistle'' * 2001 ''Little Whistle's Dinner Party'' * 2002 ''Little Whistle's Medicine'' * 2003 ''Little Whistle's Christmas'' Mr. Putter and Tabby * 1994 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea'' * 1994 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog'' * 1994 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake the Cake'' * 1995 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears'' * 1997 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane'' * 1997 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Row the Boat'' * 1998 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Take the Train'' * 1998 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Toot the Horn'' * 2000 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch'' * 2001 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish'' * 2002 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold'' * 2003 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup'' * 2004 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book'' * 2005 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish'' * 2006 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Spin the Yarn'' * 2007 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby See the Stars'' * 2008 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Run the Race'' * 2009 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Spill the Beans'' * 2010 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Clear the Decks'' * 2011 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring the Bell'' * 2012 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Dance the Dance'' * 2013 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Drop the Ball'' * 2014 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page'' * 2015 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Smell the Roses'' * 2016 ''Mr. Putter and Tabby Hit the Slope'' Poppleton Lighthouse family * 2002 ''The Storm'' * 2003 ''The Whale'' * 2003 ''The Eagle'' * 2005 ''The Turtle'' * 2005 ''The Octopus'' * 2016 ''The Otter'' * 2017 ''The Sea Lion'' * 2018 ''The Bear''

References

External links

*
Rylant's books
at Simon & Schuster
Harcourt interview with Rylant

at Kent State University – with biographical note
Rylant profile
at Scholastic Books

at About.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rylant, Cynthia 1954 births Living people 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women American children's writers Appalachian writers Kent State University alumni Marshall University alumni Morris Harvey College alumni Newbery Honor winners Newbery Medal winners People from Marion County, West Virginia American women children's writers Writers from West Virginia Librarians from West Virginia