Quail Hawkins

Background

Quail Hawkins, born Helena Ann Hawkins, was born on March 29, 1905, in Spokane, Washington, United States. She was the eldest of seven children. Her father was a fruit wholesaler and her mother a columnist for a local newspaper, The Spokane Register.

Education

Although Hawkins attended the University of California at Berkeley in 1927, she did not receive a degree but instead worked as a bookseller during the 1920s.

Career

Quail Hawkins worked at bookstores and publishing houses and encouraged the work of authors like Beverly Cleary and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Hawkins spent more than 30 years at the Sather Gate Bookshop, which was a major supplier of books for schools and libraries. Hawkins traveled extensively through Northern California for the store. From 1954 to 1961 she also served as a children's book specialist at the University of California Press before returning to Sather Gate Bookshop as a consultant on library services and book fairs.

Hawkins was a frequent visitor to Bay Area schools and libraries, enthusiastically introducing children, teachers, and parents to children's classics new and old.

Among her books there are ''Prayers and Graces for Small Children'' (1941), and several books for Holiday House, including, ''A Puppy For Keeps'' (1943), ''Don't Run, Apple'' (1944), ''Mark, Mark, Shut the Door'' (1947), and ''The Aunt-Sitter'' (1958). None of the books are still in print.

In 1963 Hawkins also wrote material on children's literature for the Encyclopedia Britannica.

All her books were illustrated, usually with boys and girls in motion, often with pets, mothers in aprons and fathers in jackets, ties, and hats. Among the illustrators she worked with were Kurt Wiese, Marguerite de Angeli, and Phyllis Coté.

Achievements

• Quail Hawkins was a highly regarded writer and authority on children's literature. She published 13 books for children and young adults that were highly praised by her readers.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Prayers and Graces for Little Children 1941
  • Who Wants an Apple? 1942
  • The Best Birthday 1954
  • A Puppy for Keeps 1943

Personality

According to family lore, Quail became a storyteller because she spent so much time caring for her younger brothers, especially after her father's death at an early age.

Interests

• Writers

  Beverly Cleary

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, vol. 212
  2011