Sterling North
Sterling North was a notable 20th-century author, particularly recognized for his contributions to children's literature. Born in 1906 in Wisconsin, North experienced a challenging childhood marked by the loss of his mother and the impact of World War I on his family. His early interactions with storytelling, particularly through his father and uncles, inspired him to pursue writing from a young age. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1929, he began a successful career in journalism, eventually becoming the literary editor for prominent newspapers, including the Chicago Daily News and the New York Post.
Throughout his career, North published a variety of works, including novels, poetry, and children's books. His most famous work, "Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era," published in 1963, was a nostalgic reflection on his childhood adventures with a pet raccoon and received several prestigious awards. North's contributions to literature extended to editing juvenile historical books at Houghton-Mifflin before his retirement in New Jersey, where he passed away in 1974. In tribute to his legacy, a book festival was established in his hometown in 2005, celebrating his enduring impact on children's literature.
Sterling North
American children's literature author, novelist, nonfiction writer, poet, and editor.
- Born: November 4, 1906
- Birthplace: Edgerton, Wisconsin
- Died: December 22, 1974
- Place of death: Morristown, New Jersey
Biography
Sterling North, a twentieth century author of children’s books, was born in 1906 and raised on a small farm in Wisconsin. North's mother died when he was young, and his older brother served in World War I. As a child, he enjoyed listening to his father and uncles tell adventurous and nostalgic stories of their youth, and these tales inspired him to become a writer. He published his first work, a poem that appeared in St. Nicholas magazine, when he was eight years old. North continued to sell poems and stories to literary magazines throughout his high school and college years. In 1927, he married Gladys Buchanan, with whom he went on to have a son and a daughter.
In 1929, North graduated from the University of Chicago and took a position as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. Within three years, he was promoted to literary editor, a position he retained until 1943. He then became the literary editor of the New York Post and later The New York World Telegram and Sun. Throughout his newspaper career, North continued to publish numerous poems and short stories, as well as novels and children's books. So Dear to My Heart was published 1947 and adapted into a Disney movie in 1949. In 1957, he left the newspaper business and went to work as general editor at the Houghton-Mifflin book publishing company. In this position, he edited North Star Books, a series of juvenile historical books.
North was best known for his children’s book Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era (1963). This story, which depicted his early childhood exploits with a pet raccoon, was designated a Newbery Honor Book in 1964 and received the American Library Association's Aurianne Award in 1965 and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader’s Choice Award in 1966, among other honors. Rascal later was adapted into a film.
In his later years, North retired to his home in New Jersey, where he died in 1974. More than four decades later, in 2005, an annual daylong book festival was established in North's honor in his hometown of Edgerton.
Author Works
Children's Literature:
The Five Little Bears, 1935
The Zipper ABC Book, 1937
Greased Lightning, 1940
Midnight and Jeremiah, 1943
So Dear to My Heart, 1947
The Birthday of Little Jesus, 1952
Son of the Lamp Maker: The Story of a Boy Who Knew Jesus, 1956
The First Steamboat on the Mississippi, 1962
Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era, 1963 (also known as Rascal: The True Story of a Pet Raccoon)
Little Rascal, 1965
Raccoons Are the Brightest People, 1966 (also known as The Raccoons in My Life)
The Wolfling: A Documentary Novel of the Eighteen-Seventies, 1969
Nonfiction:
The Pedro Gorino: The Adventures of a Negro Sea Captain in Africa, 1929 (with Harry Dean; known in UK as Umbala)
Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House, 1956
George Washington, Frontier Colonel, 1957
Young Thomas Edison, 1958
Thoreau of Walden Pond, 1959
Captured by the Mohawks, and Other Adventures of Radisson, 1960
Mark Twain and the River, 1961
Hurry, Spring!, 1966
Edited Text(s):
So Red the Nose, or Breath in the Afternoon: Literary Cocktails, 1935 (with Carl Kroch)
Speak of the Devil: An Anthology of the Appearances of the Devil in the Literature of the Western World, 1945 (with C. B. Boutell)
Long Fiction:
Midsummer Madness, 1933
Tiger, 1933
Plowing on Sunday, 1933
Night Outlasts the Whippoorwill, 1936
Seven Against the Years, 1939
Reunion on the Wabash, 1952
Poetry:
Poems, 1925
Bibliography
"About Sterling North." The Sterling North Society, www.sterlingnorthsociety.com/Sterling-North.html. Accessed 27 June 2017. A brief overview of North's literary output and the museum created in his honor.
Jacobs, Dale. "North, Sterling." Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas, edited by M. Keith Booker. ABC-CLIO, 2014, pp. 274–75. Discusses North's strident opposition to comics and desire for better children's reading material during the early 1940s. Traces the impact of his anti-comics essay, "A National Disgrace," on the public discourse.
Cohen, Sheila Terman. Sterling North and the Story of Rascal. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 2015. Aimed at a juvenile audience, this book recounts the real-life story behind North's most famous children's book.
"Edgerton Festival Marks 10th Year." Wisconsin State Journal, 1 Nov. 2015, p. E3. Newspaper Source Plus, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=117W15102921467107&site=eds-live. Accessed 27 June 2017. Describes the literary festival created in North's honor.
Review of Rascal, by Sterling North. Kirkus Review, 5 Aug. 1963, www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sterling-north-2/rascal-2. Accessed 27 June 2017. Finds North's story too saccharin but praises the characterizations.
"Sterling North, Literary Editor and Author of ‘Rascal,’ Dies." The New York Times, 23 Dec. 1974, www.nytimes.com/1974/12/23/archives/sterling-north-literary-editor-and-author-of-rascal-dies-exreviewer.html. Accessed 27 June 2017. An obituary of North.