Born: January 25, 1914Died: July 9, 1998 Ohio connection: Birth Bellefontaine Mixing the pathos of surrealism with the impishness of cartoons, James Flora was the master of hand-drawn album cover art before the record industry’s switch to photographic covers in 1956. In the 1940s, Flora was one of the first artists to design and illustrate album covers, thereby …
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The Library of Congress has re-opened applications! See below for new deadline! The Library of Congress is seeking nominations of nonprofit organizations to be considered for the 2021 Literacy Awards. For full details and to apply, visit http://www.read.gov/literacyawards/index.html. Through the generosity of philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program honors nonprofit …
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The 2021 & 2022 Choose to Read Ohio program cycle officially kicks off this month with the release of readers’ toolkits for the 2021 & 2022 CTRO booklist, which features 20 notable titles for all ages and reading levels. As with each CTRO program cycle, the booklist includes five books each for young children, middle grades, …
Read More 2021 & 2022 Choose to Read Ohio Kick-OffBorn: January 27, 1917Died: July 18, 2007 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917, writer and historian James Maher was a cultural critic of jazz and American popular music. A passionate fan of jazz and American popular music since childhood, Maher began his career as a journalist in 1934 at the Cleveland …
Read More James T. MaherBorn: January 20, 1855Died: December 23, 1914 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Alfred Henry Lewis, the son of Isaac J. Lewis (a carpenter), was born January 20, 1855, in Cleveland, Ohio. In February 1876 when he was 21 years old, Lewis was licensed to practice law, making him one of the youngest men to be admitted to the bar …
Read More Alfred Henry Lewis(Sorche Nic Leodhas) Born: May 20, 1898Died: November 14, 1969 Ohio connection: Birth Youngstown Born Leclaire Gowans on May 20, 1898, in Youngstown, Ohio, to Louis P. and Anna Gowans. Leclaire Alger wrote most of her books under the Gaelic pen-name Sorche Nic Leodhas (pronounced approximately like “sorsha nick leoh-as”), which means “Claire, daughter of Louis.” Writing under …
Read More Leclaire AlgerBorn: 1939 Ohio connection: Birth Canton Museum administrator, writer, arts scholar, and educator, Manuel Joseph Albacete was born on July 23, 1939, in Canton, Ohio. After graduating from McKinley High School in 1957, Albacete served two years in the United States Navy aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Essex. The tour of duty allowed Albacete to explore …
Read More M. J. AlbaceteBorn: 1954 Ohio connection: Birth Painesville Elizabeth A. Alder was born in 1954 in Painesville, Ohio. An award-winning author of historical fiction for children and young adults, Alder’s path toward becoming a writer has its roots in dinner table conversations with her father, a gifted storyteller who helped found the Lake County Public Defender’s Office. It …
Read More Elizabeth AlderBorn: July 16, 1935 Died: May 7, 2021 Ohio connection: Resident Yellow Springs Poet, anthologist, and biographer, Arnold Adoff was born July 16, 1935, in New York City. He was the son of immigrants from a town near the Polish-Russian border whose family had been decimated by the Holocaust. Growing up in New York City, Adoff …
Read More Arnold AdoffBorn: 1944 Ohio connection: Birth Gallipolis Born in Gallipolis and raised across the river in Wheeling, West Virginia, author, designer and illustrator Jan Adkins describes himself as “an explainer, a storyteller with words and images, an advocate for young minds, a resource for images, and a dinosaur holdout for simplicity and grace in illustration, design …
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