| Patricia MacLachlan | |
| Birth Name: | Patricia Marie Pritzkau |
| Birth Date: | 3 March 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Williamsburg, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Alma Mater: | University of Connecticut |
| Genre: | Children's and young-adult novels, historical fiction |
Patricia Marie MacLachlan (Pritzkau; March 3, 1938 – March 31, 2022) was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel Sarah, Plain and Tall, which won the 1986 Newbery Medal.
MacLachlan was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on March 3, 1938. Her father, Philo, was a professor of philosophy of education;[1] her mother, Madonna, was an American English teacher before becoming a homemaker. Her family moved to Rochester, Minnesota, when she was five years old, then relocating to Connecticut after she completed elementary as well as middle school. MacLachlan later studied English at the University of Connecticut, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1962.[2] [3]
MacLachlan first worked as an English teacher at Bennett Junior High School in Manchester, Connecticut from 1963 until 1979. She was also employed by a family services agency during this time.[2] [3] She then began writing at the age of 35, after her children started attending school. She published her first volume, The Sick Day, in 1979, with her first novel, Arthur, for the Very First Time, being released the following year. Six years later, she was awarded the Newbery Medal for her book Sarah, Plain and Tall.[2] It was adapted as a TV movie by the same name in 1991, starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken, with MacLachlan as one of its screenwriters.[2] [4] The two actors subsequently reprised their roles in the sequel Skylark two years later.[2] [5] Her novels Journey (1991) and Baby (1993) were also adapted for TV in 1995 and 2000, respectively.[2] [6] [7]
MacLachlan ultimately authored over 60 children's books throughout her career.[2] [3] She collaborated with her daughter, Emily MacLachlan Charest, to create several picture books during the latter part of her career.[8] These included Once I Ate a Pie (2006), Fiona Loves the Night (2007), I Didn't Do It (2010), Cat Talk (2013), and Little Robot Alone (2018).[2] MacLachlan received a National Humanities Medal in 2002.[9] She was a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, a national not-for-profit that actively advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.[10]
MacLachlan married Robert MacLachlan in 1962. They met while she was studying at the University of Connecticut,[3] and remained married until his death in 2015. Together, they had three children: John, Emily, and Jamison.[2] [11] She resided in western Massachusetts[12] and kept a small bag of dirt from the prairies to call to mind her Wyoming roots.[2] [3]
Patricia MacLachlan died on March 31, 2022, at her home in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. She was 84 years old.[2]