Helen G. Neuburg (née Helen G. Green, "Greenie"), a former co-owner of Cheshire Cat Children's Books in Washington, D.C., died on August 11. She was 98.
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| Helen G. Neuburg | |
Born in New York City and raised there and in Wellesley, Mass., Neuberg graduated from Swarthmore College in 1948. She married Ned Neuburg, and began her teaching career at the Windward School in White Plains, N.Y., and at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.
Her husband's job with the U.S. Department of Defense eventually prompted their move to near Silver Spring, Md., where she continued teaching. Following a two-year stay in England, she earned a master's degree in elementary education from the American University, and became head of the progressive Green Acres School in Bethesda, Md. She and her husband had three children.
After retiring from teaching, Neuberg and three former colleagues from Green Acres--Jewell Stoddard, Pam Sacks, and Charlotte Berman--founded the innovative and much-loved Cheshire Cat Children's Bookstore on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.
In a tribute, Roger Williams, managing director of the Roger Williams Agency, recalled: "Told by industry experts that a children's-only bookstore would never work, the Cheshire Cat was renowned for launching the careers of many bestselling children's authors. Forces to be reckoned with, Greenie and Jewell were the mavens of the children's book world. Publishers would consult the duo at the Cheshire Cat on introducing new authors and books. Their endorsement could mean the difference in calculating print runs. Their business model was the template for other well-known children's-only bookstores." (The bookstore closed in 1999.)
In 1989, the Neubergs moved permanently to Princeton, N.J., where Helen Neuberg was the children's book buyer for Wit & Wisdom Booksellers in Lawrenceville. She also volunteered as a Master Gardener; at the public library, where she sorted children's books and taught English conversation; and for a variety of political causes.
Her obituary noted: "Greenie was a life-long learner. Her wide range of interests included art and music, history, travel, gardening, hiking, and birdwatching. She was an avid reader right up until the very end of her life."