Dorothy Rhoads (March 19, 1895 – February 21, 1986) was an American writer of children's literature. Her book '' The Corn Grows Ripe'' was a

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

recipient in 1953.

Biography

Dorothy M. Rhoads was born in Illinois, March 19, 1895. She was the daughter of Franklin Koons and Frances May Cook Rhoads. She attended

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

. Circa 1920, she and her younger sister, Frances, moved to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

; she would live there for the remainder of her life. Dorothy and Frances maintained a voluminous correspondence, and spent time together in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Dorothy's family had a

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

godchild, Dorita, who would appear as a character in Dorothy's writing. Rhoads wrote throughout her life, including diaries, short stories, and poetry. Her only novel, ''The Corn Grows Ripe'', was published in 1956. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', noting the book's Yucatan setting, opined that the novel "traces the influence of old legends in the present day." It was named a

book in 1957. Rhoads died in 1986, at the age of 90. Her papers are held by the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Library and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhoads, Dorothy 1895 births 1986 deaths American children's writers Newbery Honor winners American women children's writers 20th-century American women 20th-century American writers