Zolotow, Charlotte (b. 1915)

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Zolotow, Charlotte (b. 1915)

American children's writer and publisher who was also a well-known senior editor at Harper & Row. Name variations: (pseudonyms) Sarah Abbott; Charlotte Bookman. Born on June 26, 1915, in Norfolk, Virginia; daughter of Louis Shapiro and Ella (Bernstein) Shapiro; married Maurice Zolotow (a writer), on April 14, 1938 (divorced 1969); children: Stephen Zolotow; Ellen Zolotow .

Charlotte Zolotow's career as author and editor spanned six decades and has made one of the most well loved of American children's writers. Born in 1915 and raised in Virginia, she attended the University of Wisconsin for three years but left before finishing a degree. In 1938, at age 23 she married writer Maurice Zolotow with whom she had two children; the couple obtained an amicable divorce in 1969.

Zolotow entered the publishing field in the 1930s, rising to become senior editor of children's literature at Harper & Row Publishers in 1940, a position she held until 1944. She then turned to writing her own stories for children, beginning with The Park Book, published in 1944 by Harper & Row. In 1953, she received the prestigious Caldecott award for The Storm Book, an honor repeated in 1963 for Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, for which she also received the Newbery award.

Zolotow regularly published illustrated children's books, over 70 in all, through the 1980s. Many of her books were bestsellers in the juvenile market and remain in print today. The appeal of her works lies in her remarkable understanding of the emotional needs and interests of children. Drawing primarily on her own memories of poignant childhood experiences, Zolotow created stories which respect her young readers by presenting human relationships and difficult material (such as death), with honesty, humor, and empathy. In 1962, Zolotow returned as senior editor at Harper, remaining in that position until 1976. She then served as vice-president and associate publisher of Junior Books until 1982. At that point, she returned to Harper & Row to establish a new imprint, Charlotte Zolotow Books, serving as its editorial director and launching the careers of numerous successful writers and book illustrators. As an editor, she has promoted the same kind of sensitive candor in books chosen for publication which she used in her own work.

In addition to the Caldecott and Newbery awards, Zolotow has received many other honors for her distinguished contributions to juvenile literature. Her first book award came in 1952 for Indian, Indian, honored by the New York Herald Tribune. The American Library Association also recognized her with citations for Do You Know What I'll Do? (1958), Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present (1962), William's Doll (1972) and My Grandson Lew (1974). William's Doll was subsequently recognized as outstanding book of the year by The New York Times and School Library Journal. I Know a Lady (1984) received Redbook's award for best children's book of the year.