William Lipkind (December 17, 1904,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– October 2, 1974) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer most famous for his

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

collaborations with

Nicholas Mordvinoff Nicolas Mordvinoff (September 27, 1911 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire–May 5, 1973 Hampton, New Jersey, United States) was a Russian-born American artist who won the 1952 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing ''Finders K ...

, under the pseudonym Will (jointly ''Nicolas and Will''). Before his writing and illustrating career, he was already an established anthropologist, graduating from

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 ...

in 1937. He earned a master's in English literature. His undergraduate degree was from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

in 1927. His doctorate was in anthropology.

Career

Writing

In 1947, he wrote ''

Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself permanently. The phr ...

'', published by

Harcourt Brace Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...

and winner of the 1951

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

Anthropology

Beginning in 1939, Lipkind spent two years in Brazil studying two Indian tribes. His research resulted in a grammar and dictionary upon his return in the US. One publication was called ''Winnebago Grammar''. It began as his dissertation at Columbia in 1944.

Teaching

Lipkind taught anthropology at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

, children's literature.

Selected works

*'' Winnebago Grammar'' (linguistics, 1945) *''The Two Reds'' (1950) *''

'' (1951) *''Beginning Charm for the New Year'' (verse, 1951) *''Boy with a Harpoon'' (1952) *''Even Steven'' (1952) *''Boy of the Islands'' (1954) *'' Professor Bull's Umbrella'' (1954) *''The Magic Feather Duster'' (1958) *''Days to Remember: An Almanac'' (nonfiction, 1961) *''Russet and the Two Reds'' (1962) *''The Boy and the Forest'' (1964) *''Nubber Bear'' (1966)

References

General

Specific

External links

Britannica.com article
1904 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American illustrators American children's writers 20th-century American anthropologists Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni City College of New York alumni Writers from New York City New York University faculty Hunter College faculty {{US-child-writer-stub