Dalgliesh, Alice, 1893-1979

Born in Trinidad, British West Indies, Alice Dalgliesh was a well-known American children's book author, illustrator and editor; Newbery Award runner-up in 1945, 1953, 1955.

Born in Trinidad, British West Indies, Alice Dalgliesh was a well known American children's book author, illustrator and editor.

Alice Dalgliesh was born Oct. 7, 1893 in Trinidad, British West Indies, and later became a naturalized United States citizen. She graduated from the Teachers College at Columbia University with a BA and later received her MA, and taught elementary school for many years before becoming a children's book editor at Charles Scribner's Sons. She published her first book for children, A Happy School Year , in 1924 and throughout her long and prolific career wrote dozens of fiction and non-fiction books for children. Alice Dalgliesh illustrated several of her own works, and also worked with many well-known illustrators, including Katherine Milhous. Alice Dalgliesh's non-fiction was praised by critics for its casual yet factual and detailed style. Her historical fiction is cited for its accuracy and detail as well as her creation of believable characters and dramatic plots. Two of her works of historical fiction, The Courage of Sarah Noble [1954], and The Bears of Hemlock Mountain [1952], were Newbery Award runners-up. Her books for very young children including Sailor Sam [1935] were noted for their attention to sound and image, and many of these books were praised for their read-aloud quality. Her autobiographical story, The Silver Pencil [1944] was also a Newbery Award runner-up. Alice Dalgliesh died on June 11, 1979 in Woodbury, Connecticut.

Biographical Sources: Something About the Author, vols. 17 and 21; Twentieth Century Children's Writers, 3rd ed., pp.256-258 see also Children's Literature Review, vol. 62