Virginia (Caroline) Kahl (1919-2004) Biography

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for SATA sketch: Born February 18, 1919, in Milwaukee, WI; died November 4, 2004, in Alexandria, VA. Librarian, illustrator, and author. Kahl was an artist and librarian who was best known for her fun-filled picture books such as 1955's The Duchess Bakes a Cake. She studied art at Milwaukee-Downer College (now Lawrence University), earning a B.A. in 1940. Her first job, however, was as a library assistant in Milwaukee during the 1940s, and from 1948 until 1955 she served as a librarian for the U.S. Army in Berlin and then Salzburg. She returned to the United States to complete her master's degree in library science at the University of Wisconsin in 1957. From 1958 until 1961, Kahl was the school librarian for the Madison (Wisconsin) Public School system; she was then hired as director of the Menomonee Falls Public Library. In 1971, she moved to Alexandria, Virginia, to be branch librarian for the public library there, becoming coordinator of public services from 1977 until her 1993 retirement. She also taught continuing education at George Washington University during the 1970s. Besides her successful library career, Kahl enjoyed art and writing, publishing over a dozen children's picture books notable for their lighthearted stories with touches of fantasy. Among these are Away Went Wolfgang (1954), Plumb Pudding for Christmas (1956), The Perfect Pancake (1960), Giants, Indeed! (1974), and Whose Cat Is That? (1979).