Mildred DeLois Taylor (born September 13, 1943) is a Newbery Award-winning American young adult novelist. She is best known for her novel ''

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' is a 1977 novel by Mildred D. Taylor. Part of her Logan family series, it is a sequel to her 1975 novella '' Song of the Trees''. It won the 1977 Newbery Medal. The novel is the first book in the Logan family sa ...

'', part of her Logan family series. Taylor is known for exploring powerful themes of family and racism faced by African Americans in the Deep South, in works that are accessible to young readers. She was awarded the 1977

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 cont ...

for ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' and the inaugural NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2003. In 2021, she won the

Children's Literature Legacy Award The Children's Literature Legacy Award (known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal until 2018) is a prize awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to writers or illustrat ...

Biography

Taylor was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

in 1943, and is the great-granddaughter of a former slave who was the son of an African-Indian woman and a white landowner. As a young child she moved to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

where she attended Toledo's public schools and eventually graduated from the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...

in 1965. She then spent two years with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, and, after returning to the United States, earned a master's degree in journalism at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

where she was instrumental in creating a Black Studies Program as a member of the Black Student Alliance. She now lives in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Taylor's books chronicle the lives of several generations of the Logan family, from times of slavery to the Jim Crow era. Her most recognizable work is ''

'' (1976), which won the

in 1977 and has been integrated into the language arts curriculum in many classrooms across the United States. "Roll of Thunder" is flanked by several books that include titles such as '' Song of the Trees'' (1975), '' Let the Circle Be Unbroken'' (1981), '' The Road to Memphis'' (1992), and '' The Land'' (2001). Her collective contributions to children's literature resulted in her being awarded the inaugural NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2003. Taylor's works are based on oral history told to her by her father, uncles, and aunt. Taylor has said that without her family, and especially without her father, her books "would not have been". She has stated that these anecdotes became very clear in her mind, and in fact, once she realized that adults talked about the past, "I began to visualize all the family who had once known the land, and I felt as if I knew them, too ..."

Works

*'' Song of the Trees'', 1975 *''

'', 1976 *'' Let the Circle Be Unbroken'', 1981 *'' The Gold Cadillac'', 1987 *''

The Friendship ''The Friendship'' is a children's novella by Mildred Taylor. Published in 1987, it is set in 1933 in Mississippi and deals with the unfair treatment of African Americans. Summary Mr. Tom Bee, an elderly black man, twice saved the life of a w ...

'', 1987 *'' Mississippi Bridge'', 1990 *'' The Road To Memphis'', 1992 *'' The Well: David's Story'', 1995 *'' The Land'', 2001 *'' All the Days Past, All the Days to Come'', 2020

Awards

Body of Work * NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, 2003 *

, 2021 ''Song of the Trees'' *First prize (African-American category), Council on Interracial Books for Children, 1973 *Outstanding Book of the Year Citation, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 1975 *Jane Addams Honors Citation, 1976 ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' *NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature 2003 *Jane Addams Honor Citation, 1977 *Notable Book Citation,

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 ...

, 1976 *

, 1977 *Buxtehuder Bulle Award, 1985 ''Let the Circle Be Unbroken'' *Outstanding Book of the Year Citation, ''The New York Times'', 1981 *Jane Addams Honor Citation, 1982 *American Book Award nomination, 1982 * Coretta Scott King Award, 1982 ''The Friendship'' *Coretta Scott King Award, 1988 *

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and P ...

for fiction, 1988 ''The Gold Cadillac'' *Notable Book Citation, ''The New York Times'', 1987 *

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...

, 1988 ''The Road to Memphis'' *Special Award, Children's Book Council, 1988 *Coretta Scott King Award, 1990 ''Mississippi Bridge'' *Christopher Award, 1990 ''The Well: David's Story'' *Jane Addams Book Award, Jane Addams Peace Council, 1996 ''The Land'' *Coretta Scott King Award, 2002,

ALA Best Book for Young Adults The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association Th ...

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is an annual American children's book award that recognizes historical fiction. It was established in 1982 by Scott O'Dell, author of ''Island of the Blue Dolphins'' and 25 other children's books, in ho ...

References

External links

* The Mississippi Writers Page
"Mildred D.Taylor"
at The University of Mississippi
The African American Literature Author Profile: Mildred D. Taylor
at AALBC.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Mildred American children's writers African-American women writers American women children's writers Newbery Medal winners Peace Corps volunteers 1943 births Living people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women

Biography

Works

Awards

See also

References

External links