Patricia Marie MacLachlan ( Pritzkau; March 3, 1938 – March 31, 2022) was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel ''
Sarah, Plain and Tall
''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. It explores themes of loneliness, abando ...
'', which won the 1986
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 ...
.
Early life
MacLachlan was born in
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...
, on March 3, 1938. Her father, Philo, was a professor of
philosophy of education
The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the arguments ...
; her mother, Madonna, was an American English teacher before becoming a homemaker. Her family moved to
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic.
Acco ...
, when she was five years old, then relocating to Connecticut after she completed elementary as well as
middle school. MacLachlan later studied English at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
, graduating with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1962.
Career
MacLachlan first worked as an English teacher at Bennett Junior High School in
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 36,379 at the 202 ...
from 1963 until 1979. She was also employed by a family services agency during this time.
[ She then began writing at the age of 35, after her children started attending school.] She published her first volume, ''The Sick Day'', in 1979, with her first novel, ''Arthur, for the Very First Time'', being released the following year. Six years later, she was awarded 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 ...
for her book ''Sarah, Plain and Tall
''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. It explores themes of loneliness, abando ...
''. It was adapted
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
as a TV movie by the same name in 1991, starring Glenn Close
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...
and Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...
, with MacLachlan as one of its screenwriters. The two actors subsequently reprised their roles in the sequel ''Skylark
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...
'' two years later. Her novels ''Journey'' (1991) and ''Baby
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
'' (1993) were also adapted for TV in 1995 and 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, respectively.
MacLachlan ultimately authored over 60 children's books throughout her career.[ She collaborated with her daughter, Emily MacLachlan Charest, to create several picture books during the latter part of her career. These included ''Once I Ate a Pie'' (2006), ''Fiona Loves the Night'' (2007), ''I Didn't Do It'' (2010), ''Cat Talk'' (2013), and ''Little Robot Alone''.] MacLachlan received a National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...
in 2002. She was a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance (NCBLA) is an American non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of literacy, literature, and libraries for young people. It was founded in 1997 by Mary Brigid Barrett and other children's book a ...
, a national not-for-profit that actively advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.
Personal life
MacLachlan married Robert MacLachlan in 1962. They met while she was studying at the University of Connecticut,[ and remained married until his death in 2015. Together, they had three children: John, Emily, and Jamison.] She resided in western Massachusetts and kept a small bag of dirt from the prairies
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
to call to mind her Wyoming roots.[
Patricia MacLachlan died on March 31, 2022, at her home in ]Williamsburg, Massachusetts
Williamsburg is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,504 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The area was first settled in 1735 and ...
. She was 84 years old.
Novels
;''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' series, of the Witting family
* ''Sarah, Plain and Tall
''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. It explores themes of loneliness, abando ...
'' (April 1985) — winner of the 1986 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 ...
* ''Skylark
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...
'' (March 1994)
* ''Caleb's Story'' (October 2001)
* ''More Perfect Than the Moon'' (2004)
* ''Grandfather's Dance'' (2009)
Other
* ''Arthur, for the Very First Time'' (1980)
* ''Through Grandpa's Eyes'' (March 1980)
* ''Mama One, Mama Two'' (1982)
* ''Tomorrow's Wizard'' (1982)
* ''Cassie Binegar'' (October 1982)
* ''Seven Kisses in a Row'' (March 1983)
* ''Unclaimed Treasures'' (July 1987)
* ''The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt'' (July 1988)
* ''Journey'' (September 1991)
* ''Three Names'' (September 1991)
* ''Baby
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
'' (October 1993)
* ''All the Places to Love'' (May 1994)
* ''What You Know First'' (September 1995)
* ''The Sick Day'' (April 2001)
* ''Edward's Eyes'' (August 2007)
* ''True Gift: A Christmas Story'' (October 2009)
* ''Before You Came'' (2011)
* ''Cat Talk'' (2013) (Illustrated by Barry Moser
Barry Moser (born 1940) is an American artist and educator, known as a printmaker specializing in wood engravings, and an illustrator of numerous works of literature. He is also the owner and operator of the Pennyroyal Press, an engraving and smal ...
)
* ''Nora's Chicks'' (2013) (Illustrated by Kathryn Brown)
* ''The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse'' (October 2014)
* ''The Truth of Me'' (January 2015)
* ''Poets Dog'' (September 4th 2018)
* ''Wondrous Rex'' (March 17th 2020)
* ''Waiting for Magic'' (September 18th 2012)
* ''White Fur Flying'' (April 8th 2018)
* ''Dream Within a Dream'' (June 23rd 2020)
* ''My Life Begins'' (2022)
* ''Snow Horses: A First Night Story'' (8 Nov 2022) or
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclachlan, Patricia
1938 births
2022 deaths
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American women writers
American children's writers
American historical novelists
American women children's writers
American women novelists
National Humanities Medal recipients
Newbery Medal winners
Novelists from Massachusetts
Novelists from Wyoming
People from Cheyenne, Wyoming
People from Hampshire County, Massachusetts
University of Connecticut alumni
Women historical novelists