Phyllis Krasilovsky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1926-08-28)August 28, 1926 |
| Died | February 26, 2014(2014-02-26) (aged 87) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | Children's books |
Phyllis Louise Krasilovsky (née Manning; August 28, 1926 – February 26, 2014)[1][2] was an American writer of children's books.
Phyllis Louise Manning was born in Brooklyn and graduated from itsJames Madison High School.[1] She recalled that she started telling children's stories to her then-fiancé William Krasilovsky's five-year-old cousin, who was dying of cancer.[3] Krasilovsky was first published after she walked into theDoubleday offices and insisted she must see an editor immediately before the couple left for Alaska.[citation needed]
Children’s book editor Margaret Lesser heard the confrontation at the front desk, invited her in, read the manuscript and acceptedThe Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes a few minutes later.[3][4] Krasilovsky's husband, at the time still a student atCornell Law School, carefully studied the contract before approving.
Then they headed for Alaska. TheirCrossley miniature car was so small, the wheel span was too narrow for the wooden tracks they occasionally encountered on the unpavedAlaska Highway. They had to hitch over the bridges with the car on the back of trucks. Phyllis subsequently used her power of persuasion in theYukon to get them overnight lodging in a jail when they had nowhere else to stay. They were featured in an article inLadies' Home Journal,How America Lives: Newcomers to Alaska.[5][6]
Over the years Krasilovsky published 20 books for children,[3] includingThe Very Little Girl andScaredy Cat and perhaps best remembered,The Cow Who Fell in the Canal andBenny’s Flag.[7] She described herThe Popular Girls Club as "one of the first books about mean kids".[3] Her books were translated into fourteen languages.[1]
In the late 1960s, Krasilovsky was part of an initiative of eminent children’s book authors who pressed for foreign rights to their works to be negotiated separately from domestic publishing contracts. The first meeting, includingMaurice Sendak,Margret Rey andH. A. Rey,Ruth Krauss,Remy Charlip, andCrockett Johnson, was held in her living room inChappaqua, New York.[citation needed]
Beginning in 1970, Krasilovsky taught children’s literature at Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY, for three years;[3] she was asked to lead the academic procession at graduation despite her lack of a college degree. As a child of the Depression, she had attendedJames Madison High School in Brooklyn on the commercial track to learn typing and stenography but also joined the debating team, whose medal she won in her graduating year and where she met her future husband.[citation needed]
The success of her bookThe Cow Who Fell in the Canal led the Dutch government to honor her with a reception at its Consulate in New York and a trip to the Netherlands. In addition to writing for many magazines, she wrote several op-eds forThe New York Times.[3]
The Krasilovskys had four children: Alexis, Jessica, Margaret and Peter.
Krasilovsky died at the age of 87 on February 27, 2014, inRedding, Connecticut, of complications from a stroke.[1][2][8]
