Caudill, Rebecca, 1899-1985

American author of children's and young adult books.

Rebecca Caudill (1899-1985), also known as Rebecca Ayers, was the author of 24 books, including her "Bonnie Books" about the Fairchild family.

American author of children's and young adult books; Newbery Honor Book citation for Tree of Freedom in 1950.

Author.

Rebecca Caudill was born in Harlan County, Kentucky, in 1899, and frequently drew upon her Appalachian background for material in her writings. After attending Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and Vanderbilt University, she taught in Tennessee and Brazil, worked as an editor in Nashville, and traveled extensively. She married James S. Ayars in 1931, and it was only after their children were in school that she took up writing in earnest. She wrote mainly for children. She died in 1985.

Rebecca Caudill was born February 2, 1899 in Harlan County, Kentucky. She graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia with an AB in 1922 and received her MA from Vanderbilt University in 1922. Rebecca Caudill married James S. Ayars, an editor and writer, in 1931 and had two children. She worked as a teacher and editor and began writing children's and young adult books in 1943. Setting was very important in her books and critics cited her ability to accurately depict 18th and 19th century Appalachian people and places in her historical fiction. Tree of Freedom (1949), a work of historical fiction, was a Newbery Honor Book for 1950. Like many of her works the story is moralistic but not didactic and uses authentic dialect to define time, place, and characters. The story has a strong female protagonist and believable characters that face conflicts that drive the plot. Rebecca Caudill also wrote books for younger readers including The Best-Loved Doll (1962) a story that tells of a little girl's love for one of her dolls. Rebecca Caudill died October 22, 1985 in Urbana, Illinois.

Something About the Author, vol. 1, pp. 50-52.

Something About the Author, vol. 44, p. 61.

Twentieth Century Children's Writers, 3rd ed., pp. 179-180.