Edwin Burdette Tunis (1897–1973) was an American painter, mural artist, book illustrator, radio announcer, actor, theater set designer and author."Tunis, Edwin, 1897-1973. NWDA (1897 - 1973) Biographical History", "Social Networks and Archival Content Project", IATH, University of Virginia; UC Berkeley School of Information; California Digital Library; http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=tunis-edwin-1897-1973-cr.xml## As a children's writer Tunis was one runner-up for the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

in 1962. He also won the Thomas A. Edison Foundation Children's Book Award for special excellence in portraying America's past. He wrote and illustrated several books, including: Oars, Sails, and Steam: A Picture Book of Ships; Weapons; Wheels; Colonial Living; and Indians.

Early life

Tunis was born in

Cold Spring Harbor, New York Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 5,070. History Cold Spri ...

, on December 8, 1897. He grew up moving a lot because his father's job was installing

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s at factories all over the country. As an adult he lived most of his life in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

References

External links

Guide to the Edwin Tunis Papers 1951–1973
at the University of Oregon * 1897 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters American muralists 20th-century American illustrators American set designers American children's writers Children's non-fiction writers Newbery Honor winners People from Cold Spring Harbor, New York Painters from New York (state) Painters from Maryland 20th-century American male artists {{US-child-writer-stub