Nancy Larrick
Nancy Larrick was an influential American educator, writer, and advocate for diversity in children's literature, born on December 28, 1910, in Winchester, Virginia. After graduating from Goucher College in 1930, she began her teaching career while simultaneously earning a master’s degree from Columbia University. Her career took a significant turn during World War II when she served as the education director for the War Bond Division in the U.S. Treasury Department. Following the war, she contributed to children’s education through her work with Young America Readers and later as the editor of the journal Reading Teacher.
Larrick was a pivotal figure at Random House, where she promoted quality children's literature and published her own works, including the well-received "See for Yourself: A First Book of Science Experiments." She established the International Reading Association, serving as its president for a year and advocating for literacy and diverse representation in literature. Notably, her 1965 article "The All-White World of Children's Books" highlighted the lack of African American characters in children’s literature. Throughout her career, she authored numerous anthologies and educational resources, earning recognition and awards for her contributions. Nancy Larrick passed away on November 14, 2004, leaving behind a legacy as a leading authority in the field of reading education.
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Nancy Larrick
Writer
- Born: December 28, 1910
- Birthplace: Winchester, Virginia
- Died: November 14, 2004
- Place of death: Winchester, Virginia
Biography
Nancy Larrick was born on December 28, 1910, in Winchester, Virginia, the daughter of Herbert S. Larrick and Nancy Nulton Larrick. She graduated from Goucher College in 1930 and then teaching at a public school in Winchester. While she was teaching, she completed a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1937. In 1942, with the United States involved in World War II, Larrick left teaching to work in the U.S. Treasury Department, where she was education director for the War Bond Division in Washington, D.C.
When the war ended, she moved to New York City and joined the editorial staff of Young America Readers, a group of classroom magazines for children. She stayed with the magazines until 1951, and during her tenure there she published her first book, Printing and Promotion Handbook, written with Daniel Melcher. The book was well-received by its target audience and was issued in three editions. In 1950, she assumed the editorship of the educational journal Reading Teacher, a post she held until 1954. In 1952, she became education director for children’s books at Random House.
See forYourself: A First Book of Science Experiments, Larrick’s first book for children, was published in 1952. Over the next seven years she produced and promoted quality children’s books through her work at Random House and through the International Reading Association. Larrick founded the association, a professional organization for reading teachers and promoters of literacy, and served as its president from 1956 through 1957. She completed a doctorate in education at New York University in 1955.
In 1958, she published A Parent’s Guide to Children’s Reading,a popular book of advice for parents and teachers that eventually went through several editions. That same year she married Alexander L. Crosby, a children’s writer with whom she collaborated on Rockets into Space. Larrick left Random House in 1959, and she worked as an independent writer and editor and lectured in education at various universities. She published articles in scholarly and popular magazines, including a revealing 1965 article in the Saturday Review, "The All-White World of Children’s Books," in which she pointed out the lack of African American characters in children’s books published within the past three years. She continued to advocate for diversity in children’s literature throughout her career.
Larrick edited numerous poetry anthologies, including I Heard a Scream in the Street: Poems by Young People in the City and Crazy to Be Alive in Such a Strange World, which celebrated the universal importance of poetry for all children. Larrick died of pneumonia on November 14, 2004, at the age of ninety-three. She enjoyed a long career as a writer and editor of children’s books and of books for school teachers and parents, and she is credited as a leading authority on the teaching of reading. Her anthologies were the primary source of high quality poetry for a generation of children, teachers, and parents. She received many awards, including the Edison Foundation Award in 1959, the International Reading Association Certificate of Merit in 1977, and membership in the Reading Hall of Fame.