Joseph Krumgold
Encyclopedia
Joseph Quincy Krumgold was a United States author and scriptwriter. He was the first author to receive the Newbery Medal
for excellence in American children's literature twice. Lois Lowry
, Elizabeth George Speare
, Katherine Paterson
, and E. L. Konigsburg
have also achieved this honor. Onion John won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
in 1960.
in a Jewish
family, and was immersed in the world of movies from a young age: his father, Henry, operated movie theatres.
He graduated from New York University
, and worked for MGM as a scriptwriter
.
He married Helen Litwin in 1947; they had one son, Adam, and lived in Greenwich Village
, and Hope, New Jersey.
He was hired by the United States Department of State
to make a film about Hispanic workers in rural America.
The film was created in 1953, and shares a title with Krumgold's first Newbery Award-winning novel, ...And Now Miguel
. Six years later, Krumgold's novel Onion John
, a story about an eccentric immigrant in small-town New Jersey
, also won the Newbery Medal.
Krumgold traveled extensively throughout the world, living in several places including California, Paris, and Rome. From 1947 to 1951, he lived and worked in Israel making movies that marked the founding of modern-day Israel.
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. ...
for excellence in American children's literature twice. Lois Lowry
Lois Lowry
Lois Lowry is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s...
, Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare was an American children's author who won many awards for her historical fiction novels, including two Newbery Medals. She has been called one of America’s 100 most popular children’s authors and much of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the...
, Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson is an American author of children's novels. She wrote Bridge to Terabithia and has received several of the major international awards for children's literature.- Early life:...
, and E. L. Konigsburg
E. L. Konigsburg
Elaine Lobl Konigsburg is an American author and illustrator of children's books and young adult fiction. She is one of five authors to win two Newbery Medals, awarded annually for one contribution to American children's literature.Her first two manuscripts were submitted to editor Jean E...
have also achieved this honor. Onion John won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was started in 1958 by Dr. David C. Davis with the assistance of Prof. Lola Pierstorff, Director Instructional Materials Center, Univ. of Wisconsin and Madeline Allen Davis, WHA Wisconsin Public Radio. Awards were presented annually at the Wisconsin Book Conference...
in 1960.
Life
Krumgold was born in 1908 in Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
in a Jewish
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
family, and was immersed in the world of movies from a young age: his father, Henry, operated movie theatres.
He graduated from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and worked for MGM as a scriptwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
He married Helen Litwin in 1947; they had one son, Adam, and lived in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, and Hope, New Jersey.
He was hired by the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
to make a film about Hispanic workers in rural America.
The film was created in 1953, and shares a title with Krumgold's first Newbery Award-winning novel, ...And Now Miguel
...And Now Miguel
...And Now Miguel is a novel by Joseph Krumgold that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1954. It deals with the life of Miguel Chavez, a 12-year-old Hispanic-American shepherd from New Mexico. It is also the title of a 1953 documentary directed by Krumgold. In...
. Six years later, Krumgold's novel Onion John
Onion John
Onion John is a novel written by Joseph Krumgold and published in 1959. It was the winner of the 1960 Newbery Medal. The story is set in 1950s New Jersey, and tells the story of 12-year-old Andy Rusch and his friendship with an eccentric hermit who lives on the outskirts of the small town of...
, a story about an eccentric immigrant in small-town New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, also won the Newbery Medal.
Krumgold traveled extensively throughout the world, living in several places including California, Paris, and Rome. From 1947 to 1951, he lived and worked in Israel making movies that marked the founding of modern-day Israel.
Other works
Although Krumgold is probably remembered most for the two Newbery winners, he also wrote a number of other novels and movie scripts.- Seven Miles from Alcatraz - a 1942 movie
- Dream No More - a 1953 movie
- The Autobiography of a Jeep - a film produced in 1943 for the United States Office of War InformationUnited States Office of War InformationThe United States Office of War Information was a U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services. It operated from June 1942 until September 1945...
- Henry 3 - a children's novel published in 1967
- The Most Terrible Turk: A Story of Turkey - a children's novel published in 1969
- Sweeney's Adventure - a children's novel published in 1942
- Thanks to Murder - an adult novel published in 1935 by the Vanguard PressVanguard PressThe Vanguard Press was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array of books on radical topics, including studies of the Soviet Union,...