Monica G. Shannon Wing (March 7, 1893 – August 13, 1965) was a Canadian-born American children's author. Her book ''

Dobry ''Dobry'' is a book by Monica Shannon first published in 1934 that won the Newbery Medal for most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in 1935. Bulgarian-born sculptor Atanas Katchamakoff illustrated the book. Plot summ ...

'', published in 1934, received 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 1935.

Biography

Shannon was born in Canada to Irish immigrants Patrick and Eliza Keena Shannon, but moved to the United States before her first birthday. They lived in Seattle first before settling in Montana's Bitter Root Valley, where she grew up on the

ranches A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

her father supervised. The stories told by her father's

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

ranch-hands influenced her writing, as did her love for nature.Chevalier, Tracy (editor), ''Twentieth-Century Children's Writers'', St. James Press, 1989, p. 880. Even as a child Shannon's writing reflected her love for nature and the shepherds on her family's ranch. For one elementary school assignment to write about her favorite Bible character, Shannon chose Joseph of the Old Testament, who was a shepherd as a young boy. The story so impressed her teacher that Shannon won a special award for it. Shannon moved to California and worked at the

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...

from 1915 to 1925, and later lived at

Three Rivers, California Three Rivers is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Tulare County, California, United States. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at the edge of the San Joaquin Valley, the town is near the entrance to the list of nationa ...

. Shannon's first book, ''California Fairy Tales'', was published by Doubleday in 1926. It includes stories from the US, Spain, and Ireland. ''Dobry'' was published in 1934. It tells the story of a young peasant boy who longs to be a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Dobry's father is dead, and his mother wants him to work the land. His grandfather, however, supports his dream and encourages him to follow his dreams. Some of Dobry's experiences come from the life of Atanas Katchamakoff, the Bulgarian-born sculptor who illustrated the book. Monica Shannon, who married Elbert Wing in Santa Barbara in 1925, died August 13, 1965.

Awards

''Dobry'' won the 1935

for the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".

Works

*''California in Print'' (Los Angeles Public Library, 1919) * ''California Fairy Tales'' (Doubleday, 1926), illustrated by C. E. Millard * ''Eyes for the Dark'' (Doubleday, 1928), illus. Millard, reissued as ''More Stories from California'' (1935)Library of Congress Online Catalog. * ''Goose Grass Rhymes'' (Doubleday, 1930), illus. Neva Kanaga Brown * ''Tawnymore'' (Doubleday, 1931), illus.

Jean Charlot Louis Henri Jean Charlot (February 8, 1898 – March 20, 1979) was a French people, French-born United States, American Painting, painter and illustrator, active mainly in Mexico and the United States. Life Charlot was born in Paris. His father, ...

* ''

'' (Viking, 1934), illus. Atanas Katchamakoff

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Monica 1893 births 1965 deaths American children's writers Newbery Medal winners Writers from Belleville, Ontario American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers American people of Irish descent Canadian emigrants to the United States