Throughout her career, both as a writer and as an editor, Charlotte Zolotow has been a proponent of children's literature that accurately portrays children's experience of the world around them. She observes: "Children have the same emotions as adults, though they experience them more intensely, since they haven't yet learned the protective camouflage with which we adults disguise our feelings." Like Margaret Wise Brown, one of Zolotow's goals in her writing is to capture the experience of childhood from a child's point of view. She states: "I remember actually thinking, when I was a child, that I would remember things that had happened, things that seemed important to me, but seemed to go unnoticed by the adults around." Zolotow's childhood desire to be an illustrator and a writer was, perhaps, shaped by her experiences and magnified by her retiring personality.
Charlotte Zolotow was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1915. Her parents were Louis and Ella Shapiro. Louis Shapiro was a lawyer who also ran several businesses. He was a very talented man, but not a good businessman. As a result, the family moved fairly frequently in the search of economic stability and opportunity. Her mother, Ella Shapiro, was active in the campaign for women's suffrage in addition to being a committed volunteer for Hadassah, the Jewish women's service organization. Frequent moves meant frequent changes of schools for Charlotte Zolotow who was by nature a shy, quiet child. When she had a series of physical problems and had to get eyeglasses, braces on her teeth, and a brace for her back, she began writing stories. While in the third grade, she won a silver pencil, her first of many prizes for writing. When talking about her childhood, Charlotte Zolotow states "I loved the idea of not only expressing myself in words, but because I was very shy in conversation, reaching other people through my writing."
Another life long love of Charlotte Zolotow's is gardening. As a child she says she read "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett again and again. When she became a parent, she read it aloud to her two children. Her own opportunity to create a beautiful garden came when she moved to her present home in New York State. The house was situated on an unattractive lot which she transformed into a beautiful garden. "The garden is one of my greatest satisfactions," she states. "When we moved here, it was nothing but a dead, sandy, neglected lot. Now there is a green lawn, a curving flower bed which includes not only standards like roses and iris, but such plants as flowering thistles raised from seeds from Emily Dickinson's garden…" Zolotow also has many plants inside her home. At book signings, she often uses green ink.
Charlotte Zolotow's writing career began after she left the University of Wisconsin in Madison which she attended from 1933 - 1936, After marrying Maurice Zolotow, she moved to New York City where she worked for Harper children's books as an editorial assistant. It was her boss, Ursula Nordstrom, who encouraged her to write her first children's book. Zolotow had written a memo to Ursula Nordstrom suggesting that they find an author to write a book about Washington Park. Ms. Nordstrom encouraged Zolotow to write it herself and the book was published in 1944 under the title, The Park. Zolotow then went on to write over seventy books for children. In her career at Harper and Brothers (now Harper Collins), she also nurtured a number of authors and illustrators who became noted in their own rights for their contributions to children's literature.
Zolotow has been such an influential force in children's literature over such a long period of time that, in 1998, the University of Wisconsin in cooperation with the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) established the Charlotte Zolotow Award. This award is presented annually to the new picture book chosen by a selected group of teachers, librarians, and educators for its distinguished text. (The well-known Caldecott awards are given for illustrations.)
Picture Books
A Father Like That by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joanne Scribner |
Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe |
I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Stevenson |
I Like to be Little by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Erik Blegvad |
If It Weren't for You by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by G. Brian Karas |
If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Stefano Vitale |
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Maurice Sendak |
My Grandson Lew by Charlotte Zolotow |
Over and over by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams |
Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham |
The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Yan Nascimbene |
The Bunny Who Found Easter by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Helen Craig |
The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter |
The Moon Was the Best by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tana Hoban |
The Old Dog by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Ransome |
The Quarreling Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arnold Lobel |
The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Wendell Minor |
This Quiet Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Anita Lobel |
When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Stefano Vitale |
William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene Du Bois |
Bibliography
The Park Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by H.A. Rey 1944
But Not Billy by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Lys Cassal 1947
The City Boy and the Country Horse by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Moyers 1952
Indian, Indian by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
The Magic Word by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Eleanor Dart 1952
The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham 1952
The Quiet Mother and the Noisy Little Boy by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Kurt Werth 1953
One Step, Two . . . by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1955
Not a Little Monkey by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1957
Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams 1957
Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams 1958
The Night When Mother Was Away by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Reisie Lonette 1958
Sleepy Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Vladimir Bobri 1958
The Bunny Who Found Easter by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Betty Peterson 1959
Big Brother. by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Mary Chalmers 1960
In My Garden by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1960
The Little Black Puppy by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Lilian Obligado 1960
The Man with the Purple Eyey by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joe Lasker 1961
The Three Funny Friends by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Mary Chalmers 1961
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Maurice Sendak 1962
When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joe Lasker 1962
Aren't You Glad? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Elaine Kurtz 1963
The Quarreling Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arnold Lobel 1963
The Sky Was Blue by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams 1963
A Tiger Called Thomas by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Kurt Werth 1963
The White Marble by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Lillian Obligado 1963
I Have a Horse of My Own by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Yoko Mitsuhashi 1964
The Poodle Who Barked at the Wind by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1964
A Rose, a Bridge, and a Wild Black Horse by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz 1964
Flocks of Birds by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joan Berg 1965
Someday by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arnold Lobel 1965
When I Have a Little Girl by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Hilary Knight 1965
Big Sister and Little Sister by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Martha Alexander 1966
If It Weren't for You by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1966
I Want to Be Little by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tony De Luna 1966
All That Sunlight by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Walter Stein 1967
Summer Is . . . by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Janet Archer 1967
When I Have a Son by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Hilary Knight 1967
My Friend John by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1968
The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1969
Some Things Go Together by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Sylvie Selig 1969
A Week in Yani's World: Greece by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Donal Getsug 1969
River Winding by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Regina Sherkerjian 1970
Where I Begin by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Rocco Negri 1970
A Week in Lateef's World: India by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ray Shaw 1970
A Father Like That by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1971
Wake Up and Goodnight by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
You and Me by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Robert Quackenbush 1971
The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ruth Robbins 1972
Hold My Hand. by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Thomas di Grazia 1972
The Old Dog by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by George Mocniak 1972
William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1972
Janey by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ronald Himler 1973
An Overpraised Season: Ten Stories of Youth by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by 1973
My Grandson Lew by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1974
The Summer Night by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1974
The Unfriendly Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1975
It's Not Fair by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1976
May I Visit? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Erik Blegvad 1976
If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Marc Simont 1980
Say It! by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Stevenson 1980
The New Friend by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arvis L. Stewart 1981
The Song by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri 1982
I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Stevenson 1984
Timothy Too! by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ruth Robbins 1986
Early Sorrow: Ten Stories of Youth by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by 1986
Everything Glistens and Everything Sings: New and Selected Poems by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Margot Tomes 1987
Something Is Going to Happen by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Catherine Stock 1988
This Quiet Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Anita Lobel 1992
The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Wendell Minor 1992
The Moon Was the Best by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tana Hoban 1993
Peter and the Pigeons by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Martine Gourbault 1993
Snippets: A Gathering of Poems, Pictures, and Possibilities by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Melissa Sweet 1993
Who Is Ben? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Kathryn Jacobi 1997
Seasons by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Eric Blegvad 2002
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