In addition to Lessing and Parks, another illustrious author passed away this week: Charlotte Zolotow, age 98. She wrote more than 70 children’s books, some illustrated by Maurice Sendak, Garth Williams, Hilary Knight, Marc Simont, Uri Shulevitz, James Stevenson and Tana Hoban, and H.A. Rey. She was an editor at Harper Collins for 38 years, became head of the children’s division and had her own imprint, “Charlotte Zolotow books.” She was the winner of the Caldecott Honor for “Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present,” illustrated by Sendak. There is also an award named after her, “The Charlotte Zolotow Award” which is given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year. Some of the books I remember best by her is “William’s Doll” which became part of “Free to Be… You and Me,” and “The Hating Book,” which I had as a child (and still own). I found it bold and courageous for people- children even!- to express themselves like that (“I hate you!”). She lived somewhat locally in Westchester. Her daughter, Crescent Dragonwagon, is also a children’s author. The New York Times quoted her as saying, “We are all the same,” she wrote, “except that adults have found ways to buffer themselves against the full-blown intensity of a child’s emotions.”
