Charlotte Zolotow

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Charlotte Zolotow , née Charlotte Shapiro , (born June 26, 1915 in Norfolk , Virginia , † November 19, 2013 in Hastings-on-Hudson , New York ) was an American children's author .

Life

Charlotte Zolotow was born as Charlotte Shapiro, the daughter of lawyers Louis J. Shapiro and Ella Shapiro. She comes from a Jewish family and has an older sister. When the father decided to quit the legal profession and open an antique shop, a time of financial hardship for the family began as the business was bad.

She suffered from scleritis for a long time . This illness ensured that she did not find friendships in her childhood. Additionally, the fact that she was wearing glasses made it difficult to socialize. The family moved often, for example to Detroit , Brookline ( Massachusetts ) or New York City , which hardly allowed for long-term friendships. As a student, Zolotow was often an outsider; this was one of the reasons that she began to write. These experiences can be found in many books for older children and young people. As a teenager she attended a private school and the situation improved.

From 1929 she attended Madison College in Madison , between 1933 and 1936 she studied Writing Scholarship (academic training as a writer, possible in the USA) and art under Professor Otto Hagen. Before starting her career as an author, she worked at the publishing house HarperCollins, initially as the secretary of the children's book editor Ursula Nordström, before she became known to her employer with her own texts. In 1987 she even became the head of her own publishing brand, the imprint "Charlotte-Zolotow-Books". In her honor, the Charlotte Zolotow Award has been presented since 1998 , which honors children's book authors who write special works in this genre.

From 1938 to 1969 she was married to the writer Maurice Zolotow and had two children with him. Her daughter Crescent Dragonwagon (* 1952 as Ellen Zolotow ) is also a well-known author, especially of cookery and children's books. Her son Steve Zolotow is a professional poker player. Charlotte Zolotow was friends with actor Alan Arkin . She lived in Hasting-on-Hudsons , New York and was a member of the US PEN Club.

A children's book author of the century

Charlotte Zolotow has written and published more than 90 books of her own. The best known is Williams Doll , which was made into a short film and for which a children's song was created. Her regular publisher was Harper Collins, a publisher who gave the guarantee that he would become famous. Generations of American children grew up with the books by Zolotow, which are therefore very well known in the United States. In her books for older children, she dealt with topics such as being an outsider (from personal experience), death, single parents, parent-child conflicts. Many of her books have been illustrated by the well-known children's book authors Anita and Arnold Lobel . She also made a name for herself as the publisher of children's books by other celebrities, such as those of Alan Arkin , Sylvia Plath , and Marcel Marceau .

Awards (selection)

  • 1953: Caldecott Medal (highest award for children's book authors in the USA)
  • 1968: Harper Gold Medal

Work (selection)

  • Two one step, 1955, picture book
  • Big Brother, 1960, picture book
  • Mr. Rabbit and the lovely gift (Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present) , pictures of Maurice Sendak , 1962
  • All the sunlight, 1967, poetry for children
  • My friend John, 1968, picture book
  • A father like that, 1971, picture book
  • Hold my Hand, 1972, picture book
  • Jary, 1973, picture book

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charlotte Zolotow, Author of Books on Children's Real Issues, Dies at 98
personal data
SURNAME Zolotow, Charlotte
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shapiro, Charlotte (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American children's author
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Norfolk , Virginia , USA
DATE OF DEATH 19th November 2013
Place of death Hastings-on-Hudson , New York , USA