Eleanora Elaine Tate (born 1948) is an American author and educator. Notably, she has written books and short stories for children and young adults and also worked as a newspaper reporter. A native of

Canton, Missouri Canton is a city in Lewis County, Missouri, Lewis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,774 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Canton is the home of Culver-Stockton College, a small liberal arts college affiliated with ...

, she attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

, graduating in 1973 with a degree in journalism. Her first novel, ''Just an Overnight Guest'' (1980), was optioned for television and released as a television movie on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

WonderWorks ''WonderWorks'' is a U.S. children's anthology television series which ran from 1984 to 1992 for eight years. Produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) along with Walt Disney Home Video purchased the home video rights to the series in 1 ...

. The

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added the film to its 1985 list of Selected Films for Young Adults. Subsequent books received multiple awards: ''The Secret of Gumbo Grove'' (1987) was awarded a "gold seal" from the

Parents' Choice Award The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...

, ''Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!'' (1990) was named Children's Book of the Year by the

National Council for the Social Studies The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is a private, non-profit association based in Silver Spring, Maryland, that provides leadership, support, and advocacy for social studies education. The council is affiliated with various region ...

, and ''A Blessing in Disguise'' (1995) was an

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...

"Pick of the List". Among other honors, she has received the Zora Neale Hurston Award and the Circle of Elders Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers (of which she was formerly president), and, from

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliati ...

, the Dr. Annette Lewis Phinazee Award. The South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate cited her in 2000 for contributions to literature and social activism.

Books

* ''Just An Overnight Guest'' 1980 * ''The Secret of Gumbo Grove'' 1987 * ''Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!'' 1990 * ''Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School'' 1992 * ''Retold African Myths'' 1993 * ''A Blessing in Disguise'' 1995 * ''Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Wisdom'' 1997 * ''Black Stars: African American Musicians'' 2000 * ''The Minstrel’s Melody'' 2001 * ''To Be Free'' 2004 * ''Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance'' 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Eleanora E. 1948 births Living people American children's writers Drake University alumni