Sorensen, Virginia Eggertsen

Virginia Eggertsen Sorensen was born February 17, 1912, in Provo, Utah, the descendent of Danish and Mormon immigrants to Utah. She attended Brigham Young University, graduating with as B.S. in 1934, and later did graduate work at Stanford University. She began writing in the 1940s, publishing her first adult novel in 1942. The book, like several other of her works, drew upon her Mormon background. In the 1950s she began to write children's and young adult books. She won widespread praise for her touching and realistic story of as young Amish girl, Plain Girl published in 1955. In 1957 she won the Newbery Medal for Miracles on Maple Hill, a story of as family's readjustment to thier father's return from a POW camp, and their relocation to the Pennsylvania countryside. She continued to write books for children and adults through the 1960s and 70s. For part of this time she lived in Morocco with her second husband, writer Eric Waugh. Her books for children and young adults have been praised by critics for their emphasis upon family and community ties, realistic narrative and setting, and her strong empathy for her characters. Virginia Sorensen died in 1991. Biographical Sources: Something About the Author, vols. 2, 72 Something About the Author Autobiography Series, vol 15