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Eloise Greenfield

エロイーズ・グリーンフィールド

Eroīzu Gurīnfirudo

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1929-05-17 （Parmele, North Carolina）
Died
2021-08-05 （Washington, D.C., United States） age 92
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Parmele, North Carolina → Washington, D.C., United States

Career

Occupations
Children's book author, Poet, Biographer
Active Years
1950-2021
Affiliations
District of Columbia Black Writers' Workshop, District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, National Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, African-American Writers Guild
Memberships
National Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, African-American Writers Guild

Education

Miner Teachers College (now University of the District of Columbia)
Period: 1946-1949
Country: United States
Left after third year; did not complete degree

Awards

Carter G. Woodson Book Award
1974
Work: Rosa Parks
Organization: National Council for the Social Studies
Result: 受賞
Coretta Scott King Award
1976
Work: Africa Dream
Organization: American Library Association (Coretta Scott King Book Awards)
Result: 受賞
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
1979
Work: Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir
Organization: The Boston Globe / The Horn Book Magazine
Result: 受賞
Jane Addams Children's Book Award
1983
Work: Paul Robeson
Organization: Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Result: 受賞
Washington, DC Mayor's Art Award (Literature)
1983
Organization: Washington, DC Mayor's Office
Result: 受賞
Recognition of Merit Award
1990
Organization: George G. Stone Center for Children's Books (Claremont, California)
Result: 受賞
Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children
Organization: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Result: 受賞
Living Legacy Award
2013
Organization: Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)
Result: 受賞
Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
2018
Organization: American Library Association (Coretta Scott King Awards)
Result: 受賞
Hurston/Wright Foundation North Star Award
Organization: Hurston/Wright Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Bubbles

1972 Children's literature (picture book)

Greenfield's first children's book; depicts family and childhood moments through everyday scenes.

FamilyEveryday lifePositive self-image

Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir

1979 Memoir / Children's biography

A semi-autobiographical work co-written with her mother, describing a happy childhood and three generations of family.

Intergenerational bondsFamily memoryCommunity

Honey, I Love and Other Poems

1978 Poetry

A collection of poems about children and family life, warmly depicting everyday experiences and loved across generations.

AffectionFamilyEveryday joys

Africa Dream

1976 Children's literature (picture book)

Expresses a child's longing for Africa and reflections on heritage and history.

HeritageCultural prideImagination

Night on Neighborhood Street

1991 Poetry

A collection of poems depicting everyday life in an urban community, notable for its detailed portrayals of city living.

Urban lifeCommunityEveryday lyricism

Bibliography

  • Bubbles
  • She Comes Bringing Me that Little Baby Girl
  • Sister
  • Me and Neesie
  • Africa Dream
  • Honey, I Love
  • Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir
  • Rosa Parks
  • Paul Robeson
  • Nathaniel Talking
  • Night on Neighborhood Street
  • The Great Migration: Journey to the North
  • Many others (48 children's books total)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Descriptive, rhythmic styleCareful choice and ordering of words that appeal to children
Recurring Motifs
Family and intergenerational bondsEveryday community lifePositive self-image and pride

Health

  • Vision loss
    晩年
    Vision loss required assistance from family to continue speaking and publishing
  • Hearing loss
    晩年
    Experienced hearing loss but continued lecturing and publishing with support

Legacy

Eloise Greenfield is celebrated for broadening diversity in American children's literature through positive portrayals of African-American life and family. Her poetry, biographies, and picture books influenced generations of readers and earned numerous awards and lifetime achievement honors.

Academic Societies

  • National Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent
  • African-American Writers Guild

In Popular Culture

  • Her works are frequently used in school curricula and reading programs and serve widely as educational material.

Quotes

  • People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live, by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.
    Source: Introduction to Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir (1979)

Trivia

  • Born Eloise Little in Parmele, North Carolina.
  • Her first poem, "To a Violin," was published in the Hartford Times in 1962.
  • Published her first children's book, Bubbles, in 1972 and wrote 48 children's books in her career.
  • From 1991 many of her later books were illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist.
  • Died of a stroke on August 5, 2021, at age 92.