Sheila Greenwald
A born-and-bred New Yorker, Sheila Greenwald has written more than twenty books for young children. And illustrated over fifty others. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing,” she says. “Writing came later, and was a lot harder. But I had my literary models from the start.” Among these were Jane Austin, Evelyn Waugh, Nancy Milford, and Elizabeth Taylor (“not the actress,” Ms. Greenwald is quick to add).
From school notebook doodles and
a childhood penchant for comic books, Ms. Greenwald’s drawing talent brought
her magazine and book work after graduation from Sarah Lawrence College, “ I
loved the course in creative writing, but I was dimly aware of not having much
to write about.” She spent the next fourteen years “getting paid for what I
loved best to do,” illustrating not only my own children’s books, but humor
collections and cookbooks as well.
In 1960, Ms. Greenwald married George Green. They have two grown sons, Samuel and Benjamin. “I never write autobiographically, or about any specific event of family life,” she explains, adding that this is a source of immeasurable relief to her family.
“But I certainly explore and expand upon the situations that touch life through them. My challenge is to invent characters, plots, and scenes which will develop and define my feelings and opinions.”
These feelings took fight when she began her writing career in 1970. Having finally found inspiration in her experience, she had a lot to talk about. “In fact,” she notes, “my books often begin with strong opinions which I then have to soften and so they aren’t boring and polemical.”
Other books by the author
-Self Illustrated Fiction:
Stucksville, Dorling Kindersley, Fall 2000.
A Metropolitan Love Story, Doubleday, 1962.
Willie Bryant and the Flying Otis, Grosset, 1971.
The Hot Day, Bobbs-Merril, 1972.
Miss Amanda Snap, Bobbs-Merril, 1972.
Mat Pit and the Tunnel Tenants, Lippincott, 1972.
The Secret Museum, Lippincott, 1974.
The Secret in Miranda's Closet, Houghton, 1977.
The Mariah Delany Lending Library Disaster, Houghton, 1977. Back In Print!
The Atrocious Two, Houghton, 1978.
All the Way to Wit's End, Little Brown, 1979.
It All Began with Jane Eyre; Or, the Secret Life of Franny Dillman, Little Brown 1980.
Blissful Joy and the SATs: A Multiple-Choice Romance, Atlantic/Little Brown, 1982.
Will the Real Gertrude Hollings Please Stand Up?, Atlantic/Little Brown, 1983.
Alvin Webster's Sure Fire Plan for Success and How It Failed, Little Brown, 1987.
Meriah Delany's Author-of-the-Month Club, Little Brown, 1990. Back In Print!
My Fabulous New Life, Browndeer Press, 1993.
Illustrator:
Marie L. Allen, Pocketful of Poems, Harper, 1957.
Carol Ryrie Brink, The Pink Motel, Macmillan, 1959.
Florence Laughlin, The Little Leftover Witch, Macmillan, 1960.
Miriam Dreifus, Brave Betsy, Putnam, 1961.
Grace V. Curl, Come A-Witching, Bobbs-Merrill, 1964.
Laura H. Fisher, Amy and the Sorrel Summer, Holt, 1964.
Barbara Rinkoff, The Remarkable Ramsey, Morrow, 1965.
Hila Coleman, The Boy Who Couldn't Make Up His Mind, Macmillan, 1965.
Anne Mallet, Who'll Mind Henry?, Doubleday, 1965.
Florence Laughlin, The Seventh Cousin, Macmillan, 1966.
Mary J. Roth, The Pretender Princess, Morrow, 1967.
James Playsted Wood, When I Was Jersey, Macmillan, 1967.
Emma V. Worstell, Jump the Rope Jingles, Macmillan, 1967.
Jean Bothwell, The Mystery Cup, Dial, 1968.
M. Jean Craig, The New Boy on the Sidewalk, Norton, 1968.
Nancy K. Robinson, Veronica the Show Off, Scholastic, 1982.
Henny Youngman, Henny Youngman's Book of Jokes, Carol Publishers, 1992.
Contributor to periodicals, including Cricket and New York Times.
As an illustrator, contributor to magazines, including Harper's, Gourmet and Reporter.
If you want to find out where you can get selections of Sheila Greenwald's works, click on Books.