Rebecca Caudill Ayars (February 2, 1899 – October 2, 1985) was an American writer of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. More than twenty of her books were published. '' Tree of Freedom'' (Viking, 1949) was a Newbery Honor Book in 1950. ''A Pocketful of Cricket'' (Holt, 1964), illustrated by

Evaline Ness Evaline Ness (April 24, 1911 – August 12, 1986) was an American commercial artist, illustrator, and author of children's books. She illustrated more than thirty books for young readers and wrote several of her own. She is noted for using a ...

, was a Caldecott Honor Book.

Life

Caudill was one of eleven children in the family of Susan and George Caudill of

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but cont ...

. She was born in Poor Fork, now

Cumberland, Kentucky Cumberland is a home rule-class city in Harlan County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population according to the 2010 Census was 2,237, down from 2,611 at the 2000 census. History Cumberland was settled in 1837 and named "Poor Fork", for ...

. She graduated from

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Ge ...

in Macon, Georgia, and then taught English and history 1920–21 at Sumner County High School,

Portland, Tennessee Portland is a city in Sumner and Robertson counties in Tennessee. The population was 11,486 in 2010 according estimates by the U.S. census bureau and in 2020 the population was 13,156. Portland is a part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistica ...

. In 1922 she received her master's degree in International Relations from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. She taught

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

(ESL) in Brazil for two years and then returned to Tennessee where she worked briefly as an editor for

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press w ...

, the Methodist Church

publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in Nashville. She moved to Chicago for a job in a publishing house, and she married James Sterling Ayars in 1931. They moved to

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

in 1937 with their two children. Caudill's first book, ''Barrie and Daughter'' (Viking, 1943), came from memories of her childhood in the hill country of Kentucky and Tennessee. Most of her children's books brought alive the pioneer era of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, evoking the culture of Appalachia she loved. She wrote in her memoir: "Doors in the houses of my Appalachia were never locked against friend or stranger. The people found their pleasures in the simple things of life. They possessed a kind of profound wisdom, characteristic of those who live close to Nature, who walk in step with Nature's rhythm, and who depend on Nature for life itself."

Activism

She was the co-founder of th
Champaign-Urbana Peace Council
created the hospitality program for international students at Wesleyan College; and served on the boards of trustees for the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County and the Urbana Free Library in Illinois. She also taught many writing workshops.

Bibliography

Many of these works are translated into at least five other languages besides English. * Barrie and Daughter (1943) * Happy Little Family (1947) * Schoolhouse in the Woods (1949) * Tree Of Freedom (1949) * Up and Down the River (1951) * Florence Nightingale (1953) * Saturday Cousins (1953) * The House of the Fifers (1954) * Susan Cornish (1955) * Schoolroom in the Parlor (1959) * Time for Lissa (1959) * Higgins and the Great Big Scare (1960) * The Best-loved Doll (1962) * A Pocketful of Cricket (1964) * The Far-off Land (1964) * A Certain Small Shepherd (1965) * The High Cost of Writing (1965) * Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? (1966) * My Appalachia: a reminiscence (1966) * Come Along (1969) * Contrary Jenkins (1969) * Rebecca Caudill (1969) * The World of Rebecca Caudill (1970) * Somebody Go and Bang a Drum (1974) * Wind, Sand and Sky (1976) * From Hardshell Baptist to Quaker (1979) * The Joyous Land: a play for childhood and youth week (n.d.) See th
Scholastics.com
website for a list of Caudill's books by interest level, genre/theme and grade level equivalency.

Awards and honors

In the fall of 1963, the University of Kentucky, Southeast Center honored her with Rebecca Caudill Day. Harlan County's first community library was located in

, and in 1965 it was named th
Rebecca Caudill Public Library
in her honor.

Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame

Rebecca Caudill was inducted into The Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony on Thursday, January 23, 2014, at the Carnegie Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Caudill was the Kentucky Hall of Fame's first children's author.

Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award

The

Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (RCYRBA) is an annual award given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by students in grades four through eight in participating Illinois schools and libraries. It is named in honor of child ...

RCYRBA
is named in honor of Caudill and her contributions to children's literature. The schoolchildren in her adopted state of Illinois,

Grade 4 Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stu ...

to Grade 8, vote each year for their favorite of twenty nominees.

References

External links

AppLit

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award

at Champaign Public Library

(2005) by Champaign Public Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caudill, Rebecca 1899 births 1985 deaths Writers from Kentucky American children's writers Wesleyan College alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Appalachian writers People from Cumberland, Kentucky Newbery Honor winners Place of death missing American women children's writers Kentucky women writers 20th-century American women American expatriates in Brazil