Mary Stolz
Encyclopedia
Mary Stolz was an American writer of fiction for children and young adults. Her works received Newbery Honors in 1962 and 1966 and her entire body of work was awarded the George G. Stone Recognition of Merit in 1982.
Her literary works range from picture books to young-adult novels. Although most of Stolz's works are fiction books, she has made a few contributions to magazines such as Cosmopolitan
, Ladies' Home Journal
, and Seventeen
.
from 1936 to 1938 and the Katherine Gibbs School
.
worsened and she was housebound by 1949. During this time she began writing to occupy her time and ultimately drafted her first novel, To Tell Your Love (1950), on yellow legal pads. She divorced in 1956. Under doctor Thomas C. Jaleski's care, her disabling symptoms resolved and in 1965, she married Dr. Jaleski.
. She stayed with the Harper publishing company for much of her career, through its incarnations from Harper & Brothers to the present-day HarperCollins
. Ms. Stolz wrote one book for adults, Truth and Consequence.
Her literary works range from picture books to young-adult novels. Although most of Stolz's works are fiction books, she has made a few contributions to magazines such as Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
, and Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
.
Early life
Mary Slattery was born on March 24, 1920 in Boston, Massachusetts. Raised in Manhattan, she attended the Birch Wathen School and served as assistant editor of her school magazine, Birch Leaves. She attended Columbia UniversityColumbia 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...
from 1936 to 1938 and the Katherine Gibbs School
Gibbs College
Katharine Gibbs College was a private for-profit institution of higher learning based in the United States of America, founded by Katharine Gibbs....
.
Marriage and children
At age 18, she married and had one son, Bill. Chronic pain from arthritisArthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
worsened and she was housebound by 1949. During this time she began writing to occupy her time and ultimately drafted her first novel, To Tell Your Love (1950), on yellow legal pads. She divorced in 1956. Under doctor Thomas C. Jaleski's care, her disabling symptoms resolved and in 1965, she married Dr. Jaleski.
Career
To Tell Your Love brought Ms. Stolz into the stable of children's book editor Ursula NordstromUrsula Nordstrom
Ursula Nordstrom was publisher and editor in chief of juvenile books at Harper & Row from 1940 to 1973. She also authored the 1960 children's book The Secret Language...
. She stayed with the Harper publishing company for much of her career, through its incarnations from Harper & Brothers to the present-day HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. Ms. Stolz wrote one book for adults, Truth and Consequence.
Children's fiction
- The Leftover Elf (1952)
- Emmett's Pig (1959)
- A Dog on Barkham StreetA Dog on Barkham StreetA Dog on Barkham Street is a children's novel published in 1960 written by Mary Stolz and illustrated by Leonard Shortall. It was voted one of 41 notable children's books of 1960 in a poll of librarians conducted by the American Library Association....
(1960) - Belling the Tiger (1961)
- Frédou (1962)
- Pigeon Flight (1962)
- The Bully of Barkham Street (1963)
- Siri the Conquistador (1963), Harper & Row
- The Mystery of the Woods (1964)
- The Noonday Friends (1965)
- Say Something (1968)
- The Story of a Singular Hen and Her Peculiar Children (1969)
- The Dragons of the Queen (1969)
- Juan (1970)
- Lands End (1974)
- Ferris Wheel (1977)
- Cider Days (1978), ISBN 978-0060258375
- Cat Walk (1983)
- The Explorer of Barkham Street (1985), ISBN 978-0060259761
- Quentin Corn (1985)
- Night of Ghosts and Hermits: Nocturnal Life on the Seashore (1985)
- Ivy Larkin (1986)
- The Cuckoo Clock (1987)
- Storm in the Night (1988)
- Bartholomew Fair (1990)
- Stealing Home (1992)
- Coco Grimes (1994)
- A Ballad of the Civil War (1997)
- Casebook of a Private (Cat’s) Eye (1999)
Young adult fiction
- To Tell Your Love (1950)
- The Sea Gulls Woke Me (1951)
- The Organdy Cupcakes (1951) - republished as Student Nurse
- In a Mirror (1953)
- Ready or Not (1953)
- Pray Love, Remember (1954)
- Rosemary (1955)
- The Beautiful Friend and Other Stories (1956)
- Hospital Zone (1956)
- The Day and the Way We Met (1956), ISBN 978-0060258368
- Because of Madeline (1957)
- Good-By My Shadow (1957)
- And Love Replied (1958)
- Second Nature (1958)
- Some Merry-Go-Round Music (1959)
- Wait for Me, Michael (1961)
- Who Wants Music on Monday? (1963)
- A Love, or a Season (1964) - first published as Two by Two
- And Love Replied (1966), ISBN 978-0060257866
- A Wonderful, Terrible Time (1967)
- By the Highway Home (1971), ISBN 978-0060258306
- Leap Before You Look (1972)
- The Edge of Next Year (1974)
- Cat in the Mirror (1975)
- Go and Catch a Flying Fish (1979), ISBN 978-0060258672
- What Time of Night Is It? (1981)
- Pangur Ban (1988)
Awards
- 1953 Child Study Children's Book AwardJosette Frank AwardThe Josette Frank Award is an annual children's literary award for fiction that honors a book or books of "outstanding literary merit in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally".Known as the Children's...
, In a Mirror - 1962 American Library Association (ALA) Newbery Honor, Belling the Tiger
- Boys' Club Junior Book Award, The Bully of Barkham Street
- 1966 Newbery Honor, The Noonday Friends
- National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe 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...
finalist, The Edge of Next Year - Boston Globe-Horn Book AwardBoston Globe-Horn Book AwardThe Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
honor book, The Edge of Next Year - 1982 George G. Stone Center Recognition Of Merit, entire body of work
- 1993 Kerlan Award