Eloise Jarvis McGraw (née Hamilton; December 9, 1915 – November 30, 2000) was an American author of children's books and young adult novels.

Early life

Eloise Jarvis McGraw was born on December 9, 1915 in Houston, Texas. At age 8 her family moved to Oklahoma City, at which time she began writing.

Career

McGraw's first professional writing was published in Jack and Jill magazine in 1949. She also published short stories in Cricket, Parents’ Magazine, and The Writer. Her first published book was Sawdust in His Shoes (1950), followed by a steady stream of works for both children and adults.

McGraw painted the cover art for most of her books.]]

She was awarded the Newbery Honor three times in three different decades, for her novels Moccasin Trail (1952), The Golden Goblet (1962), and The Moorchild (1997). McGraw had a very strong interest in history, and among the many books she wrote for children are Greensleeves, The Seventeenth Swap, The Striped Ships and Mara, Daughter of the Nile. A Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was given to Moccasin Trail in 1963.

Personal life

McGraw lived for many years in Portland, Oregon before dying in late 2000 of "complications of cancer." She was married to William Corbin McGraw, who died in 1999. They had two children, Peter and Lauren.

  • "Techniques of Fiction Writing", Writer (1959)
  • The Golden Goblet (1961; Newbery Award winner)
  • Greensleeves (1968)
  • Master Cornhill (1973)
  • A Really Weird Summer (1977; Edgar Award winner)
  • The Rundelstone of Oz (2000; initially published in Oz-story Magazine #6)

References

  • Guide to the Eloise and William McGraw Papers 1923–1991 in the University of Oregon Libraries
  • An Evening With Eloise Jarvis McGraw