(person) by junkpile Wed Oct 18 2000 at 0:33:42

Meindert DeJong was born in 1906 in Wierum, a tiny Frisian village in the Netherlands. He lived there until he was 8; then his family emigrated to the US and settled in Grand Rapids. ThePope, who knows more about Dutch names than I do, says Meindert's original name was probably "de Jong," altered when he emigrated.

DeJong was a military pilot in China during World War II. Eventually he wrote twenty-seven children's books, often using very simple plots to convey much deeper ideas. Many of his books were illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

In 1962, DeJong became the first American author to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's literature.


Books:

The Easter Cat

Hurry Home, Candy

Nobody Plays With a Cabbage

Shadrach

The Singing Hill

The Tower by the Sea

The Wheel on the School   (1955 Newbery Award)


thanks to:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/english/childlit/showcase/Andersen_Medal.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/J001456/authorbio.htm
www.amazon.com

I like it!

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