Born:1950 Ohio Connection: Resident Shaker Heights Mia Coulton has combined her passion for teaching reading with her love of pets in creating the “Danny” books, which chronicle the escapades and misadventures of Danny, Coulton’s five-year-old Labrador retriever. Danny, who harbors a penchant for Velveeta cheese chunks, is often thwarted in his attempts to sample more substantial …
Read More Coulton, MiaBorn: 1964 Ohio connection: Birth Washington Court House Margaret Peterson grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. Her father, John Albert Peterson was a farmer and her mother, Marilee Grace Peterson, worked as a nurse. Margaret received her B.A. in creative writing and journalism from Miami University of Ohio in 1986. She …
Read More Margaret Peterson HaddixBorn: 1949 Ohio connection: Birth Mentor Sara E. (Traynor) Holbrook has lived in Ohio for more than 20 years having earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mount Union College (Alliance, OH). She began writing poetry for her two daughters (now adults with children of their own) when they were children. Holbrook has …
Read More Holbrook, SaraBorn: February 1, 1902 Died: May 22, 1967 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland James Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, the son of James Nathaniel and Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes. While he was an infant, his parents separated and he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, where his grandmother raised him. When his grandmother died, he moved …
Read More Langston HughesBorn: 1961 Ohio connection: Resident Kent Born in Tuskegee, Alabama and raised in Windham, Ohio, Angela Johnson, the award-winning author of more than 40 books for children and young adults, attended Kent State University before dropping out to pursue a career as a children’s author. Working as a nanny, she was employed by Newbery-Medal-winning author Cynthia …
Read More Johnson, AngelaBorn: 1949 Ohio connection: Resident Granville Katharine Kenah is the author of more than 30 books for children. She writes picture-book texts and science-related book series for beginning readers. Reared on an oceanographic observatory in New York state, among scientists and cats, Kehan developed a strong interest in the physical sciences, in particular, Earth’s plant …
Read More Katharine KenahBorn: September 13, 1917Died: July 28, 2012 Ohio connection: Birth Bucyrus Born in Bucyrus, Ohio, on September 13, 1917, Carol Kendall was the daughter of John Adam and Laura (Price) Seeger. While attending Ohio University, she met Paul Murray Kendall, a Ph.D. who specialized in Renaissance literature and Shakespeare. The couple married on July 15, 1939. …
Read More Carol KendallBorn: May 29, 1921 Died: March 31, 2014 Ohio connection: Birth Zanesville George Edwin Laycock was born in Zanesville, Ohio. He received a B.S. degree from Ohio State University in 1943. That same year, he married Ellen M. Van Auken, and they would have three children: Elaine, Michael, and Steven. Laycock`s career began with Farm Quarterly, Cincinnati, where he …
Read More George LaycockBorn: 1942 Ohio connection: Resident Westerville J. Patrick Lewis was born in Gary, Indiana. The former Children’s Poet Laureate (2011-2013) received a B.A. degree from Saint Joseph’s College in 1964, an M.A. from Indiana University in 1965, and a PhD in economics from the Ohio State University in 1974. Lewis taught in the department of Business, Accounting …
Read More J. Patrick LewisBorn: October 14, 1893Died: September 11, 1974 Ohio connection: Birth Springfield Lois Lenski was one of the most prominent and highly respected authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults. Born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1893, Lenski was the daughter of Marietta (Young) Lenski, a former teacher, and Richard Charles Henry, a Lutheran minister. Her family moved …
Read More Lois Lenski