Gladys Lucy Adshead (April 25, 1896 – 1985) was a British-born teacher, headmistress, and writer of children's books, known for her "Brownie" books, including Brownies-Hush! (1938), Brownies - It's Christmas! (1955), Smallest Brownie's fearful adventure (1961), Brownies, They're Moving! (1970), and Smallest Brownie and the flying squirrel (1972).

Gladys Adshead
Born(1896-04-25)April 25, 1896
Manchester, England
Died1985 (aged 88–89)
Alameda County, California
OccupationTeacher, headmistress, author
EducationFroebel Educational Institute
GenreChildren's books
Notable worksBrownies-Hush!
Brownies - It's Christmas!
Smallest Brownie's fearful adventure
Brownies, They're Moving!
Smallest Brownie and the flying squirrel

Biography edit

Adshead was born in Manchester, England, to James Frederick and Bertha Wilson Groome Adshead. She was educated at Froebel Educational Institute, a teacher training college.[1][2] She became a teacher and headmistress in private schools in England,[3] where she was a member of the Royal Society of Teachers, and later in Maryland,[1] Massachusetts,[4] and Illinois in the United States.[1]

Gladys Adshead was best known for her "Brownie" books, the first of which was published in 1938 by Oxford University Press and entitled Brownies - Hush! and illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones.[5][6] Jones also illustrated Adshead's 1945 book What Miranda Knew.[7]

In 1947, Adshead collaborated with George H. Shapiro, with her writing the lyrics and Shapiro writing the music for songs in Seventeen to Sing.[8] She worked with Annis Duff to assemble poems for children in a collection called An Inheritance of Poetry;[9] the book was one of fourteen noted as distinguished books in 1948 by the Children's Library Association.[10]

She died in Alameda County, California in 1985.[1]

Selected works edit

  • Adshead, Gladys L. (1938). Brownies--hush!. Elizabeth Orton Jones. New York: H.Z. Walck. ISBN 0-8098-1003-4. OCLC 1058000.[11]
  • Adshead, Gladys L. (1939). Something Surprising. Oxford University Press.[12]
  • Adshead, Gladys L. (1943). Casco. Oxford University Press.[13]
  • Adshead, Gladys L. (1955). Brownies - It's Christmas!. Henry Z. Walck, Inc.[14]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Gladys Lucy Adshead papers - Archives West". archiveswest.orbiscascade.org. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ^ Ann Evory (1978). Contemporary authors : a bio-bibliographical guide to current authors and their works First revision. Vols 29-32. Internet Archive. Gale Research Co. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-8103-0035-4.
  3. ^ "A smiling exchange". Manchester Evening News. 18 February 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Society". The Boston Globe. 13 April 1959. p. 13. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  5. ^ Cary, Alice (2005). "Twig's Vision". The Horn Book Magazine; Boston. 81 (5): 629–634 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Stockwell, Alice E. (16 November 1938). "Beauty in Books". Nashville Banner. p. 16. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Books for Boys and Girls". The Spokesman-Review. 4 November 1945. p. 17. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  8. ^ Palmer, Lois (16 February 1947). "SEVENTEEN TO SING. Lyrics by Gladys L. Adshead. Music by George H. Shapiro. Pictures by Decie Merwin. 39 pp. New York: Oxford University Press. $2.50". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  9. ^ Reviews for An Inheritance of Poetry
  10. ^ Stewart, Margaret (1949). "The Educational Scene". Elementary English. 26 (5): 288–292. ISSN 0013-5968. JSTOR 41383644.
  11. ^ Review for Brownies-Hush!
  12. ^ Review for Something Surprising
  13. ^ Review for Casco
  14. ^ Reviews for Brownies - It's Christmas!
  15. ^ Review for Smallest Brownie's fearful adventure
  16. ^ Review of Brownies, They're Moving!
  17. ^ Review of Smallest Brownie and the flying squirrel

External links edit

Bibliography edit

  • Commire, Anne. Something About the Author, Volume 3. Gale Research 1972