Eloise Jarvis McGraw (December 9, 1915 – November 30, 2000) was an American author of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

and young adult novels.

Early life

Eloise Jarvis McGraw was born on December 9, 1915 in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. At age 8 her family moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, at which time she began writing.

Career

Her first published book was ''Sawdust in His Shoes'', in 1950, followed by a steady stream of works for both children and adults. McGraw also contributed to the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum; working with her daughter, graphic artist and librarian Lauren Lynn McGraw, she wrote '' Merry Go Round in Oz'' (the last of the Oz books issued by Baum's publisher) and '' The Forbidden Fountain of Oz''. The actual writing of the books was done entirely by Eloise; Lauren made story contributions significant enough for Eloise to assign her co-authorship credit. McGraw's '' The Rundelstone of Oz'' was published in 2000 without a credit to her daughter. Author Gina Wickwar credited McGraw with help in the editing of her book '' The Hidden Prince of Oz'' (2000). McGraw painted the cover art for most of her books.

Awards

She was awarded the Newbery Honor three times in three different decades, for her novels '' Moccasin Trail'' (1952), '' The Golden Goblet'' (1962), and '' The Moorchild'' (1997). ''A Really Weird Summer'' (1977) won an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Juvenile Mystery from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

, as later did ''Tangled Web'' (1994). McGraw had a very strong interest in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, and among the many books she wrote for children are '' Greensleeves'', '' The Seventeenth Swap'', '' The Striped Ships'' and '' Mara, Daughter of the Nile''. A Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was given to ''Moccasin Trail'' in 1963.

Personal life

McGraw lived for many years in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

before dying in late 2000 of "complications of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

." She was married to William Corbin McGraw, who died in 1999. They had two children, Peter and Lauren.

Bibliography

* (originally copyright 1952) * * * * * (originally copyright 1950) *''The Seventeenth Swap'' (1986) *''Greensleeves'', Harcourt, 1968 *''The Trouble With Jacob'' *'' Mara, Daughter of the Nile'' - Coward, 1953 *'' The Golden Goblet'', Coward, 1961 * *'' Merry Go Round in Oz'' (1963; co-author Lauren Lynn Wagner)Drew, Bernard A. (2010)
''Literary Afterlife: The Posthumous Continuations of 325 Authors' Fictional Characters''
p. 197. McFarland & Company, Inc. *'' The Moorchild'' *''Master Cornhill'' (New York: Atheneum, 1973; reprinted Littleton, CO: Sonlight Curriculum, 1995) *'' The Rundelstone of Oz'', 2000 *'' The Forbidden Fountain of Oz'' (1980, co-author Lauren Lynn Wagner) *''The Money Room'' *''Crown Fire'', Coward, 1951 *''Pharaoh'' (adult novel, set in

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

), Coward, 1958 McGarry, Daniel D., White, Sarah Harriman, ''Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels''. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (pg. 22) *"Techniques of Fiction Writing", ''Writer'', 1959

References

External links

Guide to the Eloise and William McGraw Papers 1923–1991
in the University of Oregon Libraries
An Evening With Eloise Jarvis McGraw
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGraw, Eloise Jarvis 1915 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American novelists American children's writers American fantasy writers American historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity American women historical novelists Newbery Honor winners Edgar Award winners Writers from Portland, Oregon American women science fiction and fantasy writers American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers Novelists from Oregon Oz (franchise)