Miriam Schlein (1926-2004) Biography

See index for SATA sketch: Born June 6, 1926, in New York, NY; died of vasculitis November 23, 2004, in New York, NY. Author. Schlein was a prolific author of children's books and was best known for her ability to teach young readers about animals, science, and other topics in an entertaining way. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Brooklyn College in 1947 before embarking on a variety of jobs in the fields of publishing and advertising. While working for the publisher Simon & Schuster in the children's department, she was inspired to write her own books for children. Beginning with 1951's A Day at the Playground, she went on to write nearly one hundred books over five decades. Although she wrote a number of fiction stories, such as Oomi, the New Hunter (1955), The Snake in the Carpool (1963), and I Sailed with Columbus (1991), she was often considered to be at her best when writing about the natural sciences. Among her award-winning efforts in this genre are Fast Is Not a Ladybug: A Book about Fast and Slow Things (1953), Elephant Herd (1954), What's Wrong with Being a Skunk? (1974), Giraffe, the Silent Giant (1976), The Dangerous Life of the Sea Horse (1986), and Discovering Dinosaur Babies (1991).