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Else Holmelund Minarik

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Else Holmelund Minarik
BornElse Holmelund
(1920-09-13)September 13, 1920
Fredericia, Denmark
DiedJuly 12, 2012(2012-07-12) (aged 91)
Sunset Beach, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationQueens College, City University of New York (BA)
Years active1957–2010

Else Holmelund Minarik (née Holmelund; September 13, 1920 – July 12, 2012) was a Danish-born American author of more than 40 children's books. She was most commonly associated with her Little Bear series of children's books, which were adapted for television.[1] Minarik was also the author of another well-known book, No Fighting, No Biting![2][3]

Biography

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Born in Fredericia, Denmark, Minarik immigrated to the United States at the age of four with her family. As a young child in Denmark, she was introduced to the stories of Hans Christian Andersen.[4] By 1940, Else had married Walter Minarik, who died in 1963.[1] After graduating from Queens College, City University of New York (B.A., 1942), she became a journalist, for the Daily Sentinel newspaper of Rome, New York, during World War II. She subsequently lived on Long Island, where she was employed as a first-grade teacher for the Commack School District.[2] Her first book, Little Bear, was borne out of her desire to write something her students could read on their own.[5]

She later lived in West Nottingham, New Hampshire. Minarik married her second husband, Pulitzer-winning journalist Homer Bigart, in 1970;[1] after his death in 1991, she moved to Sunset Beach[3] in Brunswick County, North Carolina, where she continued writing longhand, as she always had.[6][7]

Minarik's last book, Little Bear and the Marco Polo, was published in 2010. After having suffered a heart attack at 91, she died at home from complications, on July 12, 2012.[2][8][9]

Selected bibliography

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  • Little Bear series (illustrated by Maurice Sendak, except for the last entry):
    1. Little Bear (1957)
    2. Father Bear Comes Home (1959)
    3. Little Bear's Friend (1960)
    4. Little Bear's Visit (1961)
    5. A Kiss for Little Bear (1968)
    6. Little Bear and the Marco Polo (2010) – illustrated by Dorothy Doubleday[2]
  • No Fighting, No Biting! (1958) – illustrated by Maurice Sendak
  • Cat and Dog (1960) – illustrated by Fritz Siebel (published with new illustrations by Bryan Langdo in 2005)
  • The Little Giant Girl and Elf Boy (1963) – illustrated by Garth Williams[10]
  • Percy and the Five Houses (1989) – illustrated by James Stevenson

References

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  1. ^ a b c Julia Eccleshare (July 19, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik obituary | Books | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Shannon Maughan (July 13, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Remembering "Little Bear" Author Else Holmelund Minarik". North Carolina Arts Council. July 14, 2009. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Fox, Margalit (July 14, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik, Author of Little Bear Books, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Fox, Margalit (July 14, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik, Author of Little Bear Books, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Engel, MJ (February 15, 2006). "'Little Bear' author creates in Calabash". The StarNews. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  7. ^ "Author: Else Holmelund Minarik". Random House Group Limited. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Fox, Margalit (July 13, 2012). "Else Holmelund Minarik, Author of Little Bear Books, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  9. ^ "Minarik, Else Holmelund". Bookology Magazine. May 15, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  10. ^ The Little Giant Girl and the Elf Boy. Harper & Row. January 1963.
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