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| photo: Andrew Kilgore | |
The Hudson River rolls past
the house where Charlotte Zolotow lived
in Hastings-on-Hudson
for so long.
For so long,
she wrote, edited and shaped
books for children,
starting as secretary to
Ursula Nordstrom at
Harper Junior Books for Boys and Girls,
and rising to run the department
and later to have her own imprint.
Early on, Charlotte Zolotow
brought an idea to Ursula Nordstrom
intended for Margaret Wise Brown:
Margaret should write a book
about Washington Square Park, Zolotow suggested.
The brilliant Nordstrom asked her,
What's so special about this park?
Charlotte provided more details,
and that became The Park Book,
illustrated by H.A. Rey.
It was her first book for young people.
It was not her last.
Maurice Sendak illustrated her Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present.
William's Doll, illustrated by William Pène de Bois,
was included in Marlo Thomas's Free to Be, You and Me.
It was one of the first books to break stereotypes
of what were "acceptable" interests for boys and girls.
For so long Charlotte broke many other barriers.
Who ever heard of poetry for two voices?
She edited Paul Fleischman's I Am Phoenix
and his Newbery Medal–winning Joyful Noise.
She edited Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat,
in which sexuality is an expression of love,
not what defines us.
While watching television
she discovered the talent of Paul Zindel and
"The Effect of Gamma Rays
on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,”
and approached him to write for young people.
That led to The Pigman.
Emotions run deep
in the books Charlotte Zolotow wrote
and edited.
She was not afraid to break new ground,
bend genres or tackle tough topics.
She was "the iron fist in a velvet glove,"
with her soft voice, her genteel manner
and her gentle editor's marks
made with a green felt pen.
She was the forceful, unrelenting voice of support
for her authors and colleagues.
Those of us who worked with her bear witness
to her generosity and her ability to ask
the central question of a manuscript
that prompted authors to dive back in
and surface with the books they were meant to write.
For she was one of them.
So long, Charlotte.
We will never forget you.
"It's not often that someone comes along
who is a true friend and a good writer.
Charlotte was both."
--Jennifer M. Brown