Jean Merrill

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Jean Fairbanks Merrill (born January 27, 1923 in Rochester , New York , † August 2, 2012 in Randolph , Vermont ) was an American children's book author. Her best-known work was The War of the Flying Merchants ( English The Pushcart War ) from 1964.

Merrill has written more than 30 books and a dozen screenplays for animation adaptations of her works. Among other things, she won two Lewis Carroll Shelf Awards .

Life

Merrill was born in Rochester, New York , in 1923 as one of two children to Earl and Elsie Merrill . Her parents ran a dairy farm in Webster on the shores of Lake Ontario , where she grew up. Merrill graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania and received her Masters degree from Wellesley College in 1945 . She then found a job as an editor at Scholastic magazine.

In 1951 she published her first book, Henry the Hand-Painted Mouse . The following year, she received a Fulbright Scholarship to study folklore at the University of Madras in India . Several of her later books were based on Asian folk tales.

Jean Merrill died of cancer in August 2012 at the age of 89.

Works (selection)

  • Henry the Hand-Painted Mouse . 1951
  • The Woover . 1952
  • A song for gar . 1955
  • Shan's Lucky Knife . 1960
  • Blue's Broken Heart . 1960
  • The superlative horse . 1961
  • The War of the hawkers ( The Pushcart War ). 1964
  • The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars . 1967
  • The Black Sheep . 1969
  • Mary, come running . 1970
  • Here I come - ready or not . 1971
  • The Toothpaste Millionaire ( The Toothpaste Millionaire ). 1972
  • The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars . 1992

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Merrill, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merrill, Jean Fairbanks (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American children's book author
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Rochester , New York
DATE OF DEATH 2nd August 2012
Place of death Randolph , Vermont