Carolyn Haywood lived a very long life and wrote dozens of books beloved by children. She was born Mary Carolyn Haywood on January 3, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Charles and Mary Emma (Cook) Haywood. Her brother George Biddle Haywood, with whom she lived later in life, came along after her on October 2, 1901. (He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II.) Carolyn was an artist before she was a published author. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and, as the book jacket bio above tells us, under three pupils of Howard Pyle, who was called the father of illustration in America. Her first book was B is for Betsy, published by Harcourt Brace in 1939. The book jacket bio here is from Back to School with Betsy, dedicated to her brother George and published in 1943. Late in life, Carolyn wrote several books about Christmas, including Merry Christmas from Betsy (1970), Merry Christmas from Eddie (1986), Santa Claus Forever! (1982), and How the Reindeer Saved Santa (1986). Carolyn Haywood died on January 11, 1990, a little more than a week after her ninety-second birthday.
Text copyright 2018 Terence E. Hanley
