Eleanora Elaine Tate (born 1948) is an American author and educator. Notably, she has written books and short stories for children and young adults and also worked as a newspaper reporter. A native of Canton, Missouri, she attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

, graduating in 1973 with a degree in journalism. Her first novel, ''Just an Overnight Guest'' (1980), was optioned for television and released as a television movie on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

WonderWorks ''WonderWorks'' is an anthology series which ran from 1984 to 1992. Produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, the Walt Disney Company purchased the home video rights to the series in 1987 and was responsible for making the series available t ...

. The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

added the film to its 1985 list of Selected Films for Young Adults. Subsequent books received multiple awards: ''The Secret of Gumbo Grove'' (1987) was awarded a "gold seal" from the Parents' Choice Award, ''Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!'' (1990) was named Children's Book of the Year by the

National Council for the Social Studies The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is a U.S.-based association devoted to supporting social studies education. It is affiliated with various regional or state level social studies associations, including: the Middle States Council ...

, and ''A Blessing in Disguise'' (1995) was an

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and t ...

"Pick of the List". Among other honors, she has received the Zora Neale Hurston Award and the Circle of Elders Award from the

National Association of Black Storytellers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(of which she was formerly president), and, from

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

, the Dr. Annette Lewis Phinazee Award. The South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate cited her in 2000 for contributions to literature and social activism.

Books

* ''Just An Overnight Guest'' 1980 * ''The Secret of Gumbo Grove'' 1987 * ''Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!'' 1990 * ''Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School'' 1992 * ''Retold African Myths'' 1993 * ''A Blessing in Disguise'' 1995 * ''Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Wisdom'' 1997 * ''Black Stars: African American Musicians'' 2000 * ''The Minstrel’s Melody'' 2001 * ''To Be Free'' 2004 * ''Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance'' 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Eleanora E. 1948 births Living people American children's writers Drake University alumni