Else Holmelund Minarik (née Holmelund; September 13, 1920 – July 12, 2012) was a Danish-born American author of more than 40 children's books. She was most commonly associated with her Little Bear series of children's books, which were adapted for television.[1] Minarik was also the author of another well-known book, No Fighting, No Biting![2][3]
Else Holmelund Minarik | |
|---|---|
| Born | Else Holmelund September 13, 1920 Fredericia, Denmark |
| Died | July 12, 2012 (aged 91) Sunset Beach, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Education | Queens College, City University of New York (BA) |
| Years active | 1957–2010 |
Biography edit
Born in Fredericia, Denmark, Minarik immigrated to the United States at the age of four with her family. By 1940, Else had married Walter Minarik, who died in 1963.[1] After graduating from Queens College, City University of New York (B.A., 1942), she became a journalist, for the Daily Sentinel newspaper of Rome, New York, during World War II. She subsequently lived on Long Island, where she was employed as a first-grade teacher for the Commack School District.[2] She later lived in West Nottingham, New Hampshire. Minarik married her second husband, Pulitzer-winning journalist Homer Bigart, in 1970;[1] after his death in 1991, she moved to Sunset Beach[3] in Brunswick County, North Carolina, where she continued writing longhand, as she always had.[4][5]
Minarik's last book, Little Bear and the Marco Polo, was published in 2010. After having suffered a heart attack at 91, she died at home from complications, on July 12, 2012.[2][6][7]
Selected bibliography edit
- Little Bear series (illustrated by Maurice Sendak, except for the last entry):
- Little Bear (1957)
- Father Bear Comes Home (1959)
- Little Bear's Friend (1960)
- Little Bear's Visit (1961)
- A Kiss for Little Bear (1968)
- Little Bear and the Marco Polo (2010) – illustrated by Dorothy Doubleday[2]
- No Fighting, No Biting! (1958) – illustrated by Maurice Sendak
- Cat and Dog (1960) – illustrated by Fritz Siebel (published with new illustrations by Bryan Langdo in 2005)
- The Little Giant Girl and Elf Boy (1963) – illustrated by Garth Williams[8]
- Percy and the Five Houses (1989) – illustrated by James Stevenson
References edit
- ^ a b c Julia Eccleshare (July 19, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik obituary | Books | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Shannon Maughan (July 13, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ a b "Remembering "Little Bear" Author Else Holmelund Minarik". North Carolina Arts Council. July 14, 2009. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Engel, MJ (February 15, 2006). "'Little Bear' author creates in Calabash". The StarNews. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "Author: Else Holmelund Minarik". Random House Group Limited. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (July 13, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik, Author of Little Bear Books, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "Minarik, Else Holmelund". Bookology Magazine. May 15, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ The Little Giant Girl and the Elf Boy. Harper & Row. January 1963.
External links edit
- Holmelund Minarik at the Children's Literature Network
- New Hampshire Public Radio Interview Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine