Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American author of children's fiction and poetry. Her novel The Cat Who Went to Heaven

The Cat Who Went to Heaven

The Cat Who Went to Heaven is a 1930 novel by Elizabeth Coatsworth that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1931. The story is set in ancient Japan, and is about a poor painter and a cat he adopts....

 won the 1931 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. ...

.

Born May 31, 1893, in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, Coatsworth attended Buffalo Seminary for High School, then graduated from Vassar College

Vassar College

Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...

 in 1915 and received a Master of Arts from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 1916. She was an international traveler, which later influenced her writing. Her first publications were poems in magazines, and her first book published was Fox Footprints (1923). In 1929, she married writer Henry Beston

Henry Beston

Henry Beston was an American writer and naturalist, best known as the author of The Outermost House, written in 1925.-Early life and work:...

, with whom she had two children. They lived at Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...

, and Chimney Farm, Maine.

She died at her home in Nobleboro, Maine

Nobleboro, Maine

Nobleboro, founded in 1788, is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,626 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...

, August 31, 1986.

Works

• 1923 Fox Footprints
• 1927 The Cat and the Captain
• 1930 The Cat Who Went to Heaven
  The Cat Who Went to Heaven
  The Cat Who Went to Heaven is a 1930 novel by Elizabeth Coatsworth that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1931. The story is set in ancient Japan, and is about a poor painter and a cat he adopts....
  
  
• 1932 Cricket and the Emperor's Son
• 1935 The Golden Horseshoe
• 1936 Sword of the Wilderness
• 1938 Here I Stay
• 1940 The Littlest House
• 1942 Houseboat Summer
• 1944 Trudy and the Tree House
• 1949 Little Haymakers
• 1951 Dollar for Luck
• 1952 Boston Bells
• 1953 Aunt Flora
• 1953 Giant Golden Book of Cat Stories
• 1953 Giant Golden Book of Dog Stories
• 1953 Last Fort: A Story of the French Voyageurs
• 1953 Old Whirlwind: A Story of Davy Crockett
• 1954 Sod House
• 1955 Cherry Ann and the Dragon Horse
• 1956 The Peddler's Cart
• 1957 Giant Golden Book of Dogs, Cats, and Horses: 61 Stories and Poems
• 1958 The Cave
• 1958 The Dog from Nowhere
• 1958 Down Tumbledown Mountain
• 1958 You Say You Saw a Camel?
• 1959 Pika and the Roses
• 1960 Children Came Running
• 1960 Desert Dan
• 1960 Indian Encounters: An Anthology of Stories and Poems
• 1960 Lonely Maria, 1960
• 1961 Noble Doll
• 1962 Ronnie and the Chief's Son
• 1963 Jock's Island
• 1963 Runaway Home
• 1964 Jon the Unlucky
• 1965 The Place
• 1966 Fox Friend
• 1966 Kite and the Wind
• 1966 Sparrow Bush: Rhymes
• 1967 Bess and the Sphinx
• 1967 Hand of Apollo
• 1967 Troll Weather
• 1969 The Enchanted
• 1968 American Adventures
• 1968 Bob Bodden and the Good Ship "Rover"
• 1968 Lighthouse Island
• 1968 Down Half The World
• 1968 Lucky Ones: Five Journeys Toward a Home
• 1968 Maine Memories
• 1969 George and Red
• 1969 Indian Mound Farm
• 1969 They Walk in the Night
• 1970 Bob Bodden and the Seagoing Farm
• 1970 Grandmother Cat and the Hermit
• 1971 Daniel Webster's Horses
• 1971 Snow Parlor, and Other Bedtime Stories
• 1971 Under the Green Willow
• 1972 Good Night
• 1972 Wanderers
• 1973 Daisy
• 1973 Pure Magic
• 1974 All-of-a-Sudden Susan
• 1975 Marra's World
• 1976 Personal Geography: Almost an Autobiography

The Sally Series

All novels in this series illustrated by Helen Sewell

Helen Sewell

Helen Sewell was a children's book illustrator and author. She won a 1955 Caldecott Honor for The Thanksgiving Story and illustrated several Newbery Honor novels.Some of her papers were donated to the University of Minnesota.-Life:...

• 1934 Away Goes Sally
• 1939 Five Bushel Farm
• 1940 The Fair American
• 1942 The White Horse
• 1946 The Wonderful Day

The Incredible Tales

• 1951 The Enchanted
• 1953 Silky
• 1954 Mountain Bride
• 1958 The White Room

Elizabeth Coatsworth created over 70 works in her lifetime.