Mary Stolz (born Mary Slattery, March 24, 1920 – December 15, 2006) was an

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writer of fiction for children and young adults. She received the 1953 Child Study Association of America's

Children's Book Award Children's Book Award is a generic term that has been applied to: * Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Medal, annual "most distinguished American picture book for children" * Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award from the Vermont Department of Lib ...

for ''In a Mirror,''

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s in 1962 for ''Belling the Tiger'' and 1966 for ''The Noonday Friends'', and her entire body of work was awarded the George G. Stone Recognition of Merit in 1982. Her literary works range from picture books to young-adult novels. Although most of Stolz's works are fiction books, she made a few contributions to magazines such as ''

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'', and ''

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''.

Biography

Early life

Mary Slattery was born on March 24, 1920 in Boston, Massachusetts. Raised in Manhattan, she attended the Birch Wathen School and served as assistant editor of her school magazine, ''Birch Leaves''.Mary Stolz Biographical Sketch
. She attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1936 to 1938 and the Katherine Gibbs School.

Marriage and children

At age 18, she married and had one son, Bill. Chronic pain from

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

worsened and she was housebound by 1949. During this time she began writing to occupy her time and ultimately drafted her first novel, ''To Tell Your Love'' (1950), on yellow legal pads. She divorced in 1956. Under doctor Thomas C. Jaleski's care, her disabling symptoms resolved and in 1965, she married Dr. Jaleski.

Career

''To Tell Your Love'' brought Ms. Stolz into the stable of children's book editor

Ursula Nordstrom Ursula Nordstrom (February 2, 1910 – October 11, 1988) was publisher and editor-in-chief of juvenile books at Harper & Row from 1940 to 1973. She is credited with presiding over a transformation in children's literature in which morality tales ...

. Mary Stolz admired Ursula Nordstrom, describing her as "a great editor...she reads a manuscript lovingly, but firmly, and I trust her judgement absolutely." She stayed with the Harper publishing company for much of her career, through its incarnations from Harper & Brothers to the present-day

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. Ms. Stolz wrote one book for adults, ''Truth and Consequence''.

Death and afterward

Ms. Stolz died in Longboat Key, Florida.

Works

Children's fiction

* ''The Leftover Elf'' (1952) * ''Emmett's Pig'' (1959) * '' A Dog on Barkham Street'' (1960) * ''Belling the Tiger'' (1961) * ''The Great Rebellion'' (1961) * ''Frédou'' (1962) * ''Pigeon Flight'' (1962) * ''The Bully of Barkham Street'' (1963) * ''Siri the Conquistador'' (1963), Harper & Row * ''The Mystery of the Woods'' (1964) * ''The Noonday Friends'' (1965) * ''Maximilian's World'' (1966) * ''A Wonderful, Terrible Time'' (1967) * ''Say Something'' (1968) * ''The Story of a Singular Hen and Her Peculiar Children'' (1969) * ''The Dragons of the Queen'' (1969) * ''Juan'' (1970) * ''Lands End'' (1974) * ''Ferris Wheel'' (1977) * ''Cider Days'' (1978), * ''Cat Walk'' (1983) * ''The Explorer of Barkham Street'' (1985), * ''Quentin Corn'' (1985) * ''Night of Ghosts and Hermits: Nocturnal Life on the Seashore'' (1985) * ''Ivy Larkin'' (1986) * ''The Cuckoo Clock'' (1987) * ''The Scarecrows and Their Child'' (1987) * ''Storm in the Night'' (1988) * ''Bartholomew Fair'' (1990) * ''Stealing Home'' (1992) * ''Coco Grimes'' (1994) * ''A Ballad of the Civil War'' (1997) * ''Cezanne Pinto: A memoir'' (1997) * ''Casebook of a Private (Cat’s) Eye'' (1999)

Young adult fiction

* ''To Tell Your Love'' (1950) * ''The Sea Gulls Woke Me'' (1951) * ''The Organdy Cupcakes'' (1951) - republished as ''Student Nurse'' * ''In a Mirror'' (1953) * ''Ready or Not'' (1953) * ''Pray Love, Remember'' (1954) * ''Rosemary'' (1955) * ''The Beautiful Friend and Other Stories'' (1956) * ''Hospital Zone'' (1956) * ''The Day and the Way We Met'' (1956), * ''Because of Madeline'' (1957) * ''Good-By My Shadow'' (1957) * ''And Love Replied'' (1958) * ''Second Nature'' (1958) * ''Some Merry-Go-Round Music'' (1959) * ''Wait for Me, Michael'' (1961) * ''Who Wants Music on Monday?'' (1963) * ''A Love, or a Season'' (1964) - first published as ''Two by Two'' * ''And Love Replied'' (1966), * ''A Wonderful, Terrible Time'' (1967) * ''By the Highway Home'' (1971), * ''Leap Before You Look'' (1972) * ''The Edge of Next Year'' (1974) * ''Cat in the Mirror'' (1975) * ''Go and Catch a Flying Fish'' (1979), * ''What Time of Night Is It?'' (1981) * ''Pangur Ban'' (1988)

Adult fiction

* ''Truth and Consequence'' (1953)

Awards

*1953 Child Study Children's Book Award, ''In a Mirror'' *1962 American Library Association (ALA) Newbery Honor, ''Belling the Tiger'' * Boys' Club Junior Book Award, ''The Bully of Barkham Street'' *1966 Newbery Honor, The Noonday Friends'' *

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

finalist, ''The Edge of Next Year'' *

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

honor book, ''The Edge of Next Year'' *1982 George G. Stone Center Recognition Of Merit, entire body of work *1993 Kerlan AwardAwards, Grants & Fellowships
University of Minnesota.

References

External links

Mary Stolz: The New York State Literary Tree

in the

De Grummond Children's Literature Collection The McCain Library and Archives is the chief reserve library for The University of Southern Mississippi. It houses the items in Southern Mississippi's possession that are not available for checkout. Besides being the archives, the building also h ...

— with biographical note *
Interview with Mary Stolz
about winning the 1993 Kerlan Award, ''All About Kids! TV Series'' #137 (1993) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolz, Mary 1920 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American novelists American children's writers American women novelists Columbia University alumni Newbery Honor winners Writers from Boston 20th-century American women writers Novelists from Massachusetts Gibbs College alumni Birch Wathen Lenox School alumni 21st-century American women