Nancy Larrick Succumbs to Pneumonia

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2005

Nancy Larrick, a noted educator, poet, and author who campaigned successfully for the inclusion of multiculturalism in children's books, died of pneumonia on November 14 at her home in Winchester, VA. She was 93.

Larrick is best remembered for an article in the 1965 Saturday Review Post, "The All-White World of Children's Books," which criticized the near absence of black characters in children's books. The article helped spearhead a multicultural movement in children's literature that continues to this day.

Larrick's lifelong passion for quality children's literature was evident while she was an associate editor of children's books at Random House from 1952 to 1959. She was dismayed by the poor quality of standard reading textbooks like the Dick and Jane series—she preferred instead Dr. Seuss's works and Else Holmelund Minarik's Little Bear. In 1956 she founded the International Reading Association, and in 1958, she influenced parents' reading selections with her book A Parent's Guide to Reading (Doubleday). Larrick wrote or edited almost 30 books for children, including 14 poetry anthologies.