Florence Parry Heide (February 27, 1919 – October 23, 2011) was a bestselling American children's writer.

Early life

Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Heide spent most of her childhood in

Punxsutawney Punxsutawney (; Lenape: ' ) is a borough in southern Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney is known globally for its annual Groundhog Day celebration held each February 2, during which thousands of attendees and international media outl ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Her father, who was a banker, died when Heide was two years old. After two years of studying at Wilson College in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

, she transferred to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, graduating in 1939. She worked in advertising and public relations in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

before returning to Pittsburgh during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and became publicity director of The Pittsburgh Playhouse. She met her husband, Donald C. Heide, in October, 1943. They married six weeks later, on November 27, 1943. After the war, she and her husband moved to

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

. He began a private law practice where he worked until his retirement in 1982. She devoted herself to her children and began her career as a children's author after all five of them were in school.

Career

Her first book, ''Maximilian'', was published in 1967. She published more than 100 books for children and youth – from picture books to adolescent novels – and several collections of poetry. She also collaborated with Sylvia Van Clief to write a number of songs. Her best-known works are a series of books about the adventures of a boy named Treehorn, which includes the titles ''

The Shrinking of Treehorn ''The Shrinking of Treehorn'' is a children's book by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Edward Gorey, and first published in 1971. The main character in the book is Treehorn, whose parents barely notice when he shrinks. Plot Treehorn is a yo ...

'' (1971), '' Treehorn's Treasure'' (1981), and ''Treehorn’s Wish'' (1986), all of which were illustrated by

Edward Gorey Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other w ...

. She also worked with illustrators

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer (born January 26, 1929)''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 is an American cartoonist and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 as North- ...

and

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in ''Son in Law'', coll ...

and won awards for her work. Under the pen name Alex B. Allen, Heide and at least two co-authors contributed texts to the illustrated Springboard sports series published by Albert Whitman of Chicago.

Personal life

Heide was the mother of five children, including authors Judith Heide Gilliland and Roxanne Heide Pierce, with whom she co-wrote several other books. She had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Heide was known in Kenosha for the

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

parade she organized each year. Hundreds of children with their bikes decorated would gather outside her home and ride twice around her block to the beat of a drum. The parade continues each year in her honor. She received an honorary degree from Carthage College in 1979. Heide died in her sleep on October 23, 2011. Upon her death, she gifted a large portion of her personal collection of children's books to the Center for Children's Literature at Carthage College.

References

External links

Short biography
at Candlewick Press
Short biography
at Houghton Mifflin *
Alex B. Allen
(joint pseudonym) at LC Authorities {{DEFAULTSORT:Heide, Florence Parry 1919 births 2011 deaths American children's writers People from Kenosha, Wisconsin Writers from Pittsburgh Writers from Wisconsin Wilson College (Pennsylvania) alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni