Background
Holland was born July 17, 1908, in Washington, District of Columbia
Holland was born July 17, 1908, in Washington, District of Columbia
Holland graduated from Central High School and Swarthmore College.
Holland’s best-known books were A Big Ball of String. Number Children, Number Pets. Billy Had a System; and A Big Ball of String (1958), which sold more than a million copies, was one of the six original Beginner Books published by Random House, along with The Cat in the Hat by Doctor Seuss.
Her reminiscences about growing up in the Washington area were published in The Washington Post and The Washington Star, and she often corresponded with Post columnist William Raspberry.
“lieutenant was uncanny how often Marion Holland’s letters seemed to come precisely when I was stuck for a column idea,” Raspberry wrote. “lieutenant was in her letters that her trenchant wit and sardonic wisdom came to the fore.” Holland died of cancer on April 6, 1989, in Washington, District of Columbia
