McCully, Emily Arnold (1939–)
McCully, Emily Arnold (1939–)
American children's writer, novelist and illustrator. Name variations: Emily Arnold. Born July 1, 1939, in Galesburg, IL; dau. of Wade E. (writer) and Kathryn (Maher) Arnold (teacher); Brown University, BA, 1961; Columbia University, MA, 1964; m. George E. McCully (historian), June 3, 1961 (div. 1975); children: Nathaniel, Thaddeus.
Worked in advertising and as a free-lance magazine artist (1961–67); began illustrating children's books (1966); won National Book Award for Meindert De Jong's Journey from Peppermint Street (1969); other illustrated works include Hurray for Captain Jane! (1972), Ma nDa La (1975) and Edward Troy and the Witch Cat (1979); after illustrating more than 100 books by other authors, completed her own, Picnic, a story about a family of mice told through watercolor paintings; followed this with a sequel, First Snow (1985); also wrote adult fiction, winning an O. Henry Award (1977) and publishing the novel A Craving, which was nominated for a National Book Award (1982).