Barbara Robinson (author)
{{short description|American writer}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{infobox writer
| name = Barbara Robinson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|10|24}}
| birth_place = Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|7|9|1927|10|24}}
| death_place = Berwyn, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| occupation = Author
| alma_mater = Allegheny College
| notable_works = The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972)
| spouse = John F. Robinson
| children = 2
| birth_name = Barbara Jean Webb
| relatives = Theodore L. Webb (father), Grace Webb (mother)
}}
Barbara Jean Robinson (October 24, 1927 – July 9, 2013) was an American author and writer of the children's books The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972) and The Best School Year Ever (1994).{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/books/barbara-robinson-childrens-book-author-dies-at-85.html?_r=1& |title=Barbara Robinson, Children's Book Author, Dies at 85 |newspaper=The New York Times |author=William Yardley |date=July 13, 2013}}[http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/pdf/authordate.pdf discoveryeducation.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222012209/http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/pdf/authordate.pdf |date=December 22, 2009 }} authordate.pdf
Biography
Barbara Robinson was born and raised in Portsmouth, Ohio, the only child of Theodore L. Webb and his wife Grace Webb (née Mooney).{{Cite web |last=Staino |first=Rocco |title=Barbara Robinson, |url=https://www.slj.com/story/barbara-robinson-best-christmas-pageant-author-dies-at-85 |access-date=2025-06-19 |website=School Library Journal}} Her father died when she was three. Robinson's mother, a schoolteacher in Portsmouth for forty-nine years, got her interested in books, and she began writing very early. Robinson attended Allegheny College, where she received a bachelor's degree in theater.{{cite web |last= Yardley |first= William |title= Barbara Robinson, Children's Book Author, Dies at 85 :'( |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/books/barbara-robinson-childrens-book-author-dies-at-85.html?_r=0 |website= The New York Times |accessdate= October 31, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140325083314/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/books/barbara-robinson-childrens-book-author-dies-at-85.html?_r=0 |archive-date= March 25, 2014 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}
In addition to her children's books, Robinson wrote many short stories in publications such as McCall's, Redbook and Ladies Home Journal, and has some books of poetry.
Robinson lived in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She died July 9, 2013, at her home in Berwyn. She was 85 and had cancer. Robinson had two daughters with her husband John F. Robinson: Carolyn and Marjorie; three grandchildren: Tomas, Marcos, and Lucas.{{cite news |title= Barbara Robinson dies at 85; wrote 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' |url= https://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-barbara-robinson-20130718,0,2920472.story?track=rss |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 17, 2013 |accessdate=July 19, 2013 }}
Works
- Across from Indian Shore, illustrated by Evaline Ness (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1962)
- Trace through the Forest (Lothrop, 1965)
- The Fattest Bear in the First Grade, illus. Cyndy Szekeres (Random House, 1969) – picture book
- Temporary Times, Temporary Places (Harper & Row, 1982)
- My Brother Louis Measures Worms and other Louis stories (Harper, 1988)
;The Herdmans
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, illus. Judith Gwyn Brown (Harper, 1972); global title The Worst Kids in the World
- The Best School Year Ever (Harper, 1994)
- The Best Halloween Ever (HarperCollins Joanna Cotler Books, 2004)
References
{{reflist |25em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140719133701/http://usawrites4kids.drury.edu/authors/robinson/ official website] (web.archive.org 2014-07-19)
- {{LCAuth|n99042956|Barbara Robinson|14|}}
{{Portal |Children's literature}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Barbara}}
Category:Allegheny College alumni
Category:American children's writers
Category:Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania
Category:Writers from Chester County, Pennsylvania
Category:People from Portsmouth, Ohio
Category:Writers from Pennsylvania
Category:American women children's writers
Category:20th-century American writers
Category:21st-century American writers