Else Holmelund Minarik (née Holmelund; September 13, 1920 – July 12, 2012) was an American author of more than 40 children's books. She was most commonly associated with her ''Little Bear (book), Little Bear'' series of children's books, which were Little Bear (TV series), adapted for television. Minarik was also the author of another well-known book, ''No Fighting, No Biting!''

Biography

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. 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. She later lived in West Nottingham, New Hampshire. Minarik married her second husband, Pulitzer-winning journalist Homer Bigart, in 1970; after his death in 1991, she moved to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, Sunset Beach in Brunswick County, North Carolina, where she continued writing longhand, as she always had. 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.

Selected bibliography

*''Little Bear (book), 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 *''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 *''Percy and the Five Houses'' (1989) – illustrated by James Stevenson (illustrator), James Stevenson

References

External links

Holmelund Minarik at the Children's Literature NetworkNew Hampshire Public Radio Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minarik, Elsie Holmelund 1920 births 2012 deaths Queens College, City University of New York alumni Danish emigrants to the United States People from Rockingham County, New Hampshire American women children's writers People from Fredericia American children's writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers Writers from New York (state) Writers from New Hampshire