Taylor, Theodore, 1921-2006

American author of children's and young adult fiction and non- fiction.

From the description of Rogue wave : and other red blooded sea stories : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62440257

American author of children's and young adult fiction and non-fiction.

From the description of The Maldonado miracle : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62437710

From the description of Sweet Friday Island : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424651

From the description of Battle in the English Channel : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424647

From the description of The bomb : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424648

From the description of The hostage : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424653

From the description of The cay : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424652

From the description of The sniper : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424649

From the description of Battle off Midway Island : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490305

From the description of Walking up a rainbow : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62437708

From the description of Air raid--Pearl Harbor : the story of December 7, 1941 : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490304

From the description of Teetoncey and Ben O'Neal : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62424654

From the description of Maria : a Christmas story : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686067

From the description of Battle in the Arctic Seas : the story of Convoy PQ 17 : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686064

From the description of Tuck triumphant : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686066

From the description of The odyssey of Ben O'Neal : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686068

From the description of The trouble with Tuck : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686065

From the description of Rebellion town : Williamsburg, 1776 : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62686069

From the description of Rocket island : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402608

From the description of To kill the leopard : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402609

From the description of Timothy of the cay : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402612

From the description of The children's war : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402610

From the description of Papers, 1969-1995. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402606

From the description of H.M.S. Hood vs. Bismarck : the battleship battle : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62490307

American author of children's and yong adult fiction and non-fiction.

From the description of The weirdo : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62437709

American author of children's and young adult fiction.

From the description of Teetoncey : production material. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 62402611

Theodore Taylor was born June 23, 1921 in Statesville, North Carolina, and attended the United State Merchant Marine Academy in New York in the early 1940s. Taylor served in the Merchant Marine and United States Navy for several years, and saw active service in World War II. In the 1940s and 1950s, Taylor worked as a sports editor and writer, reporter, publicist, and producer, with a number of years spent in Hollywood. In the 1950s, he began writing for adults and in 1967 produced his first juvenile work People Who Make Movies.

In 1969, Taylor published The Cay, a critically praised story of the experiences and gradually shift in attitudes of Philip,a young, white, Southern, boy who survives a shipwreck and blindness with the help of an elderly black man, Timothy, whose compassion, assistance, and resilience cause Philip to re-think many of his attitudes about race and friendship. While the book was almost overwhelmingly well-received, a few critics have denigrated the book for it's portrayal of Timothy and its supposed "colonialist" and "patronizing" attitudes towards blacks. However, most have noted that the book is historical fiction, set during the Second World War, seen and narrated through the eyes of a young Southern boy and to criticize Taylor's approach and story is naive and simplistic given its time period and context. Taylor's sequel/prequel to The Cay, Timothy of the Cay (1993), continues the story from Philip's perspective and gives its background from Timothy's; like its predecessor it has been well received.

Many of Taylor's books use his love and knowledge of the sea and his North Carolina background. His "Cape Hatteras Trilogy" Teetoncey, Teetoncey and Ben O'Neal, and The Odyssey of Ben O'Neal draw on both of these interests. Taylor uses the themes of survival against the odds and the boy protagonist challenged by the environment and his circumstances in these books as well as some of his other young adult novels. Taylor's interest in the sea has also led him to write several works of non-fiction dealing with various battleships during World War II. Theodore Taylor has continued to write young adult books with his "Tuck" stories dealing with the love between dog and human and others focusing on World War II.

From the guide to the Theodore Taylor Papers, 1969-1995, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [clrc])