Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds (1933–)
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds (1933–)
American children's writer. Born Jan 4, 1933, in Anderson, Indiana; dau. of Eugene S. (salesman) and Lura (Schield) Reynolds (teacher); Joliet Junior College, diploma, 1953; American University, BA, 1963; m. 2nd husband, Rex V. Naylor (speech pathologist), May 26, 1960; children: Jeffrey Alan, Michael Scott.
Began career as clinical secretary at Billings Hospital, Chicago (1953–56); was an elementary schoolteacher in Hazelcrest, Illinois (1956); editorial assistant with NEA Journal, Washington, DC (1959–60); became a full-time writer (1960); active in civil rights and peace organizations, was also president of Children's Book Guild (1974–75, 1983–84); wrote over 100 books, including Wrestle the Mountain (1971), How Lazy Can You Get? (1979), A String of Chances (1982), The Solomon System (1983), Night Cry (1984), which won the Edgar Allan Poe Award, The Dark of the Tunnel (1985), The Keeper (1986), The Year of the Gopher (1987), Maudie in the Middle (1988), the popular Alice series, including The Agony of Alice (1985), and the "Witch" trilogy. Won the Newbery Medal for Shiloh (1992).
See also autobiographies, Crazy Love: An Autobiographical Account of Marriage and Madness (1977) and How I Came to Be a Writer (1979).