Byrd Baylor Explained

Byrd Baylor
Birth Date:28 March 1924
Birth Place:San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation:Author
Genre:Children's literature
Notableworks:Amigo, When Clay Sings, The Desert is Theirs, Hawk, I'm Your Brother, The Way to Start a Day

Byrd Baylor (March 28, 1924 ā€“ June 16, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and author of picture books for children. Four of her books have achieved Caldecott Honor status.

Background

Byrd Baylor was born in March 1924 in San Antonio, Texas.[1] She was related to Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, the namesake of Baylor University, and to Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Her first name, Byrd, is taken from her mother's maiden name.[2]

Baylor attended the University of Arizona.[1]

Writing

Baylor's work presents images of the Southwest and an intense connection between the land and the Native American people.[1] Her prose illustrates vividly the value of simplicity, the natural world, and the balance of life within it.[3] She wrote an essay entitled Good Women Who Love Bad Trucks which she read aloud for radio station KXCI.[4] Byrd contributed essays to Tucson's City Magazine in the late 1980s.[5]

Personal life

Baylor latterly lived in Arivaca, Arizona, in an adobe house that did not have electricity. She worked with three manual typewriters.[6]

She died in June 2021 at the age of 97.[7] [8]

Caldecott Honors

Baylor was awarded Caldecott Honors for her books When Clay Sings (1973) with illustrator Tom Bahti, and The Desert is Theirs (1976), Hawk, I'm Your Brother (1977), and The Way to Start a Day (1979) with illustrator Peter Parnall.[9]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Byrd Baylor Papers . University of Minnesota . The Children's Literature Research Collections . 16 May 2022.
  2. Web site: Bonnie Henry : Desert druid writes on. 17 May 2009 . 28 May 2012.
  3. Web site: Birthday Bios: Byrd Baylor . 28 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120512031920/http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/03mar/3-28baylor.html . 12 May 2012 .
  4. Web site: Good Women Who Love Bad Trucks ā€“ Byrd Baylor. 27 March 2024.
  5. Web site: https://archive.org/search?sort=-date&query=%28byrd%29+AND+title%3A%28%22City+Magazine%22%29. 27 March 2024.
  6. Web site: Authors Attending the 2004 Northern Arizona Book Festival. 28 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20110825075817/http://www.flagstaffcentral.com/bookfest2004/authors2004/baylor.html. 25 August 2011. dead.
  7. Web site: Tucson writer Byrd Baylor, 'voice of the desert and its people,' dies at 97. Tony. Davis. June 25, 2021. Arizona Daily Star.
  8. News: Maughan . Shannon . Obituary: Byrd Baylor . Publishers Weekly . 1 July 2021.
  9. Web site: Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present. 27 March 2024.
  10. Baylor, B., Everybody Needs a Rock, accessed 3 August 2023