Throwback bookday – Ann McGovern

Working in the Scholastic archive, we sometimes discover materials in the stacks that take us on a walk down memory lane. Today’s treasures are some early titles from the late Ann McGovern, “children's author and editor and member of the Scholastic family”.

Title: Black is Beautiful

Photographer: Hope Wurmfeld

Publication Date: 1969

“As an active member of the Council on Interracial Books for Children, Miss McGovern is keenly aware of the need for books that speak to every child. The inspiration – and determination – to write Black is Beautiful was born during a spontaneous ceremony in New York City’s Central Park the day after Dr. Martin Luther King was killed.” (from the book jacket)

Title: Cristofer Columbus

Original title: Christopher Columbus

Illustrator: Joe Lasker

Publication Date: 1965

This i.t.a. edition uses the Initial Teaching Alphabet, the “set of 44 lower-case characters designed to ease the route into the complexities of printed English” that is a product of spelling reform movements in the 50s and 60s.

Title: The Defenders

Retitled as: Native American Heroes: Osceola, Tecumseh & Cochise

Publication Date: 1970

“THE DEFENDERS tells the exciting and tragic stories of three great Indian leaders, who fought bravely for their people's freedom and their right to live on their own lands. The battles took place in Florida swamps, in the Midwest, and on the Western Plains, at a time when our nation was expanding rapidly... These stories are a part of the long struggle for human liberty in our country – as well as tragic chapters in the history of the first Americans.” (from the introduction)

Title: Runaway Slave: the Story of Harriet Tubman

Retitled as: "Wanted Dead or Alive": The True Story of Harriet Tubman

Illustrator: Richard M. Powers

Publication Date: 1965

“This is the story of one slave who ran away. But running away was not all she did.” (from the introduction)

Title: Stone Soup

Illustrator: Nola Langner

Publication Date: 1968

McGovern's retelling of this popular folktale was republished in 1986 with illustrations by Winslow Penny Pels. You can find lesson plans for extension activities using Stone Soup on the Scholastic Teacher site.

These are just a handful of the dozens of wonderful stories that Ann McGovern shared with all of us during her lifetime.

"She was a creative and passionate force in children's books, bringing her own love of life to the work she cared so much about: exciting children to be curious about the adventure of life and learning."

Dick Robinson, CEO & Chairman