Mabel Leigh Hunt Explained

Mabel Leigh Hunt
Birth Date:	1 November 1892
Birth Place:	Coatesville, Indiana, USA
Occupation:	Children's writer
Nationality:	American
Alma Mater:	DePauw University
Death Place:	Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Mabel Leigh Hunt (November 1, 1892 – September 3, 1971) was an American writer of children's books.

Biography

Hunt was born in Coatesville, Indiana, on November 1, 1892, to Quakers Dr. Tilghman Hunt and Amanda (Harvey) Hunt.^[1] She was raised in a Quaker home in Greencastle, Indiana.^[2] When she was ten, her family moved to Plainfield, Indiana, where they lived until her physician father died.^[3] She and her mother then moved to Indianapolis where, except for brief periods, she lived for the remainder of her life.^[4]

After graduating from Shortridge High School, Hunt returned to Greencastle to study at DePauw University 1910 to 1912, as well as attending the Western Reserve University Library School in Cleveland from 1923-1924.^[5] For twelve years, from 1926 to 1938, she worked as a children's librarian and branch librarian at the Indianapolis Public Library. In 1934 she published her first book, Lucinda, A Little Girl of 1860^[6] while still working as a librarian; it wasn't until the year of her fifth book (1938) that she left her position to write full-time.

Hunt was just over five feet tall, with brown eyes and brown hair, listing her favorite occupations as "reading, cooking, friends, and travel." Many of her stories were set in Indiana, and their Quaker settings were based on stories of her mother's childhood.^[7] Two of her books were Newbery Honor winners: Have You Seen Tom Thumb? in 1943 and Better Known as Johnny Appleseed in 1951.

Mabel Leigh Hunt died in Indianapolis, Indiana, on September 3, 1971.

Works

• Lucinda, A Little Girl of 1860, 1934
• The Boy Who Had No Birthday, 1935
• Little Girl with Seven Names, 1936
• Susan, Beware!, 1937
• Benjie's Hat, 1938
• Little Grey Gown, 1939
• Michel's Island, 1940
• Billy Button's Butter'd Biscuit, 1941
• John of Pudding Lane, 1941
• Corn-Belt Billy, 1942
• Have You Seen Tom Thumb?, 1942
• Peter Piper's Pickled Peppers, 1942
• The Peddler's Clock, 1943
• Young Man of the House, 1944
• Sibby Botherbox, 1945
• The Double Birthday Present, 1947
• Such a Kind World, 1947
• Matilda's Buttons, 1948
• Better Known as Johnny Appleseed, 1950
• The 69th Grandchild, 1951
• Ladycake Farm, 1952
• Singing Among Strangers, 1954
• Miss Jellytot's Visit, 1955
• Stars for Cristy, 1956
• Cristy at Skippinghills, 1958
• Tomorrow Will Be Bright, 1958
• Cupola House, 1961
• Johnny-Up and Johnny-Down, 1962
• Beggar's Daughter, 1963

Awards

• Newbery Honor, Have You Seen Tom Thumb?, 1943
• Newbery Honor, Better Known as Johnny Appleseed, 1951

External links

• Mabel Leigh Hunt at Our Land, Our Literature, Ball State University
• Mabel Leigh Hunt Papers at Children's Literature Research Collections, University of Minnesota – with biographical sketch

Notes and References

1. Biography Reference Bank: Curent Biography Database. EBSCO, 2024.
2. Web site: Mabel Leigh Hunt Papers . June 28, 2024 . The University of Southern Mississippi.
3. Book: Kunitz, Stanley . The Junior Book of Authors . Haycraft . Howard . The H. W. Wilson Company . 1951 . 2nd . New York . 168-169.
4. Book: Thompson, Donald E. . Indiana Authors and Their Books 1917-1966 . Wabash College . 1974 . Crawfordsville, Indiana . 1974 . 314.
5. Book: Twentieth-Century Children's Writers . St. James . 1989 . 9780912289953 . Chevalier . Tracy . 3rd . Chicago . 482.
6. Book: Ward, Martha Eads . Authors of Books for Young People . Scarecrow Press . 1990 . 9780810822931 . 3rd . Metuchen, N.J. . 1990 . 335.
7. Book: Gillis, Ruth Jeannette . Indiana Books by Indiana Authors: A Guide to Children's Literature . Indiana University Press . 1990 . 0253325838 . Bloomington and Indianapolis . 2.