Betsy Byars
Encyclopedia
Betsy Cromer Byars is an American
author of children's books. Her novel Summer of the Swans
won the 1971 Newbery Medal
. She has also received a National Book Award
, for The Night Swimmers (1980), and an Edgar Award
, for Wanted...Mud Blossom (1991).
Byars has been called "one of the ten best writers for children in the world" by Nancy Chambers, editor of the British literary journal Signal, and in 1987 Byars received the Regina Medal
for lifetime achievement from the Catholic Library Association. Due to the popularity of her books with children, she has also been listed as one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.
to George Guy, a cotton mill executive, and Nan (née
Rugheimer) Cromer, a homemaker. Her early childhood was spent during the Great Depression
. She attended Furman University
in Greenville, South Carolina
, from 1946 to 1948, before transferring to Queens College in Charlotte, where she graduated in 1950 with a bachelor's degree
in English
.
After graduating, Cromer met Edward Ford Byars, a graduate student in engineering at Clemson University
, and they married on June 24, 1950. They had three daughters and a son between 1951 and 1958: Laurie, Betsy Ann, Nan, and Guy. In 1956, the family moved from Clemson, South Carolina
to Urbana, Illinois
where Edward pursued further graduate work at the University of Illinois, eventually becoming a professor of engineering. While her husband was busy during the day with his studies, Betsy began writing for magazines. Her work was eventually featured in The Saturday Evening Post
, Look
, Everywoman's Magazine, and TV Guide
. Her first novel, Clementine, was published in 1962.
Betsy and Ed Byars are both licensed aircraft pilots and live on an airstrip in Seneca, South Carolina, the bottom floor of their house being a hangar.
Daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers are also children's authors, and the three of them are currently (as of February 2009) working on their fourth book together.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of children's books. Her novel Summer of the Swans
Summer of the Swans
Summer of the Swans is a novel by Betsy Byars that won the Newbery Medal in 1971 about fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey's search for her missing, mentally challenged brother Charlie....
won the 1971 Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
. She has also received a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
, for The Night Swimmers (1980), and an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
, for Wanted...Mud Blossom (1991).
Byars has been called "one of the ten best writers for children in the world" by Nancy Chambers, editor of the British literary journal Signal, and in 1987 Byars received the Regina Medal
Regina Medal
The Regina Medal is an American Literary award of the Catholic Library Association. It was established in 1959 to recognize "continued, distinguished contribution to children’s literature without regard to the nature of the contribution"....
for lifetime achievement from the Catholic Library Association. Due to the popularity of her books with children, she has also been listed as one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.
Life
Byars was born Betsy Cromer on August 7, 1928, in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
to George Guy, a cotton mill executive, and Nan (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Rugheimer) Cromer, a homemaker. Her early childhood was spent during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. She attended Furman University
Furman University
Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...
in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
, from 1946 to 1948, before transferring to Queens College in Charlotte, where she graduated in 1950 with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
After graduating, Cromer met Edward Ford Byars, a graduate student in engineering at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
, and they married on June 24, 1950. They had three daughters and a son between 1951 and 1958: Laurie, Betsy Ann, Nan, and Guy. In 1956, the family moved from Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson is a college town located in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199...
to Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
where Edward pursued further graduate work at the University of Illinois, eventually becoming a professor of engineering. While her husband was busy during the day with his studies, Betsy began writing for magazines. Her work was eventually featured in The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
, Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
, Everywoman's Magazine, and TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
. Her first novel, Clementine, was published in 1962.
Betsy and Ed Byars are both licensed aircraft pilots and live on an airstrip in Seneca, South Carolina, the bottom floor of their house being a hangar.
Daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers are also children's authors, and the three of them are currently (as of February 2009) working on their fourth book together.
Works
- 1962 Clementine
- 1965 The Dancing Camel
- 1966 Rama, the Gypsy Cat
- 1967 The Groober
- 1968 The Midnight Fox
- 1970 Summer of the SwansSummer of the SwansSummer of the Swans is a novel by Betsy Byars that won the Newbery Medal in 1971 about fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey's search for her missing, mentally challenged brother Charlie....
- 1971 Go and Hush the Baby
- 1972 The House of Wings
- 1973 The Eighteenth Emergency (winner of the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book AwardDorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book AwardThe Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award is an annual award for new American children's books, given in Vermont and named after Vermont author Dorothy Canfield Fisher. The winning book is chosen by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren....
) - 1974 After the Goat Man
- 1976 The TV Kid
- 1977 The PinballsThe PinballsThe Pinballs is a 1976 young adult novel by American author Betsy Byars. The story is about three foster children, Carlie, Harvey and Thomas J., who have been taken in by the Masons, a couple who have cared for many other foster children in the past in also have some personal problems . Carlie...
- 1978 The Cartoonist
- 1978 The Winged Colt of Casa Mia
- 1979 Trouble River
- 1980 The Night Swimmers
- 1981 The Cybil War
- 1982 The Animal, The Vegetable, and John D. Jones
- 1982 The Two-Thousand-Pound Goldfish
- 1983 The Glory Girl
- 1984 The Computer NutThe Computer NutThe Computer Nut is a children's novel written by Betsy Byars. Kate Morrison, the title character, is receiving messages on her computer purportedly from an extraterrestrial, BB-9, who claims he can monitor and control all computers on Earth...
- 1985 Cracker Jackson ISBN 0-670-80546-7
- 1990 Good-Bye, Chicken Little
- 1991 The Seven Treasure Hunts
- 1992 Coast to Coast
- 1993 McMummy
- 1995 Growing Up Stories
- 1996 The Joy Boys
- 1996 TornadoTornado (Betsy Byars novel)Tornado is a children's book by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Doron Ben-Ami.-Plot:To calm the fears of his boss's sons as they wait out a tornado in a storm cellar, Pete tells some well-worn stories of his childhood dog, Tornado: how he arrived intact in his doghouse during another tornado; how he...
(illustrated by Doron Ben-AmiDoron Ben-AmiDoron Ben-Ami is an Israeli archaeologist.Ben-Ami earned his PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he is a member of the Institute of Archaeology.He is the discoverer of the palace of Queen Helena of Adiabene in the City of David, Jerusalem....
) - 2000 Me Tarzan
- 2002 Keeper of the DovesKeeper of the DovesKeeper of the Doves is a children's novel by Betsy Byars. Set in turn-of-the-century Kentucky, the novel is written in a series of episodes of first-person narratives about the emerging awareness of a girl, her place in her family and world, and the tremendous power of words for good and bad...
- 2004 Top Teen Stories (contribution)
Bingo Brown Series
- 1988 The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown
- 1991 Bingo Brown and the Language of Love
- 1992 Bingo Brown, Gypsy Lover
- 1992 Bingo Brown's Guide to Romance
The Blossom Family Series
- 1986 The Not-Just-Anybody Family
- 1986 The Blossoms Meet the Vulture Lady
- 1987 The Blossoms and the Green Phantom
- 1987 A Blossom Promise
- 1991 Wanted...Mud Blossom
The Jolly Sisters Series
- 1985 The Golly Sister Go West
- 1990 Hooray for the Golly Sisters
- 1994 The Golly Sisters Ride Again"
Herculeah Jones Series
- 1994 The Dark Stairs
- 1995 Tarot Says Beware
- 1996 Dead Letter
- 1997 Death's Door
- 1998 Disappearing Acts
- 2006 King of Murder
- 2006 The Black Tower
Collaborations with daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers
- 2000 My Dog, My Hero
- 2004 The SOS File
- 2007 Dog Diaries