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Ellen MacGregor

May 11, 2024

Ellen MacGregor (May 15, 1906 – March 29, 1954) was an American children's writer. She is known best for the Miss Pickerell series of children's novels.

Ellen MacGregor
Born15 May 1906 
Baltimore 
Died29 March 1954  (aged 47)
Chicago 
OccupationLibrarian, science fiction writer 

Life edit

She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to George Malcolm MacGregor and Charlotte Genevieve Noble MacGregor. and was educated in schools in Garfield and Kent, Washington. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle, receiving a Bachelor of Science in library science in 1926. She did postgraduate work in science at the University of California, Berkeley. She worked in numerous libraries, wrote several well-received children's books and numerous magazine articles, and died in 1954 at the age of 47.[1]

Library career edit

MacGregor worked in many jobs. She was a librarian for the elementary schools of the Central Hawaii School district and a cataloguer in the Hilo Library in Hawaii. She supervised the compilation of the Union Catalog of Art in Chicago and was a research librarian with International Harvester in Chicago, Illinois. She worked in Florida as a librarian at the Naval Operating Base in Key West, and organized and administered the library at the Naval Air Technical Training Center. She did research in children's literature for Scott, Foresman, and Company; served as the serials librarian of the Chicago Undergraduate Division of the University of Illinois; and was an editor of the Illinois Women's Press Association monthly bulletin, Pen Points.

Writing career edit

MacGregor began to write for publication in 1946. A story that she submitted at that time for a class at the Midwestern Writers Conference was later published as the book Tommy and the Telephone. The first appearance of Miss Pickerell, her famous and quirky major character, was in the short story "Swept her into Space", published in Liberty during 1950. She expanded it to book length, published in 1951 as Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, a science fiction novel for children. MacGregor's goal was to provide fantasy literature with correct (for the time) scientific facts that would appeal to children. Miss Pickerell was well received by critics, such as Virginia Kirkus, who wrote: "A lively novelty. Fact and fancy in a new venture for this age group." It was also released as the initial selection of the new Weekly Reader Children's Book Club. Three other Miss Pickerell adventures followed before MacGregor's early death.

Besides these books, many of MacGregor's stories appeared in magazines of that period, such as Story World, The Instructor, and Christian Home.

Published books edit

Written by MacGregor edit

  • Tommy and the Telephone, illustrated by Zabeth (Chicago: Whitman, 1947)
  • Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, illus. Paul Galdone (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1951); (London: Blackie and Son, 1957)
  • Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter, illus. Galdone (McGraw Hill, 1953); (Blackie, 1958)
  • Miss Pickerell Goes Undersea, illus. Galdone (McGraw Hill, 1953); (Blackie, 1959)

The fourth Miss Pickerell story and three others written by MacGregor were published by McGraw-Hill after her death.

  • Miss Pickerell Goes to the Arctic, illus. Galdone (McGraw-Hill, 1954); (Blackie, 1960)
  • Theodore Turtle, illus. Galdone (McGraw-Hill, 1955); (London: Faber, 1956)
  • Mr. Ferguson of the Fire Department, illus. Galdone (McGraw-Hill, 1956)
  • Mr. Pringle and Mr. Buttonhouse, illus. Galdone (McGraw-Hill, 1957)

Miss Pickerell extended edit

Eleven Miss Pickerell books were published as by Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell; that is, credited to co-authors.

After MacGregor's death in 1954, McGraw-Hill searched unsuccessfully for someone to continue the series until 1964, when they selected Dora Pantell, a social worker, and a writer of publicity and educational curricula. In addition to children's books, Pantell wrote numerous textbooks and manuals, mainly on teaching of English as a second language.[2] Since the later books of the series deal with issues or themes that did not exist or were not apparent during MacGregor's lifetime (energy crisis, computers, artificial satellites), it seems clear that Ms. Pantell was continuing "in the spirit" of Ellen MacGregor and Miss Pickerell.

These 11 books were all published by McGraw-Hill and illustrated by Charles Geer:

  • Miss Pickerell on the Moon, by Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell, illus. Geer (McGraw Hill, 1965)
  • Miss Pickerell Goes on a Dig (1966)
  • Miss Pickerell Harvests the Sea (1968)
  • Miss Pickerell and the Weather Satellite (1971)
  • Miss Pickerell Meets Mr. H.U.M. (1971)
  • Miss Pickerell Takes the Bull by the Horns (1976)
  • Miss Pickerell to the Earthquake Rescue (1977)
  • Miss Pickerell and the Supertanker (1978)
  • Miss Pickerell Tackles the Energy Crisis (1980)
  • Miss Pickerell on the Trail (1982)
  • Miss Pickerell and the Blue Whales (1983)

By Dora Pantell edit

A different New York publisher, Franklin Watts, issued the last two stories as by Dora Pantell alone, with the statement "Series originated by Ellen MacGregor."

  • Miss Pickerell and the War of the Computers, by Pantell, illus. Charles Geer (F. Watts, 1986)
  • Miss Pickerell and the Lost World, by Pantell, illus. Geer. (F. Watts, 1986)

The Miss Pickerell series edit

MacGregor is best known as an author from the Miss Pickerell children's science fiction series, although only four of them were published in her lifetime. She left sufficient notes on planned future novels to enable Dora Pantell to write and publish Miss Pickerell books, the last one, Miss Pickerell and the Lost World, appearing in 1986.

Miss Lavinia Pickerell is an unlikely heroine: prim, spinsterly, angular and stiff, wearing old‑fashioned clothes and an outlandish hat, and devoted to her pet cat, she nevertheless manages to inadvertently stow away on a rocket to Mars in her first adventure. But with her common-sense, practicality, and unflappable demeanor she manages to bring each adventure to a satisfactory conclusion. She is every child's favorite maiden aunt, and is possibly modeled after MacGregor herself.

The series resembles others that are written by other writers long after the deaths of their creators, such as Tom Swift and Nancy Drew. But only one other author has written in the Miss Pickerell "universe" for publication,[3] Dora Pantell, who was also responsible for bringing other Ellen MacGregor-conceived projects to completion.

Later writers who indicated that Miss Pickerell had been either an influence or a favorite include such authors as Harry Turtledove,[4] Susan Page Davis,[5][6] and Sam Riddleburger.[7]

Science in Miss Pickerell edit

MacGregor included valid scientific facts in her Miss Pickerell books. Some of the topics she addressed were weightlessness in space travel, atomic energy and carbon-14 dating, nuclear-powered submarines and the continental shelf, the "bends" affecting divers who surface too rapidly, and many others.

To Mars, to the Arctic, above the ground or below, Miss Pickerell is dauntless, intrepid, and eager. It's all good fun, but with a bonus. The scientific basis of each of the Miss Pickerell stories is scrupulously accurate. Although she was careful not to overburden her fragile plots with didactic passages explaining gravity, radiation, etc. Ellen MacGregor managed very skillfully to incorporate a good deal of information that a child reader could absorb almost without realizing it. With rare judgement, she gauged just how much to present to the 8-12’s who are Miss Pickerell's audience. A clear picture in bald outline, rather than a mass of confusing and discouraging detail, is most apt to appeal to and instruct that active age group. [8]

References edit

  1. ^ Biographical entry for Ellen MacGregor at RootsWeb (Ancestry.com). Retrieved 2008-06-21. [1]
  2. ^ "The Miss Pickerell series" 2016-04-10 at the Wayback Machine. Iowa State University (iastate.edu).
  3. ^ The Miss Pickerell series. Iowa Public Schools. Retrieved 2008-06-21.[2] 2016-04-10 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ Author/Editor Interview at Baen Books, 2005. "I think I found the Miss Pickerell stories and the Mushroom Planet books when I was in about the third grade." Retrieved 2015-09-04. . Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-09-03..
  5. ^ At the Chat 'n' Chew Cafe' with Crystal Laine Miller – Interview with Susan Page Davis. Her Favorite Childhood Book: Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars. Retrieved 2008-06-21. [3].
  6. ^ Susan Page Davis - Author. Retrieved 2008-06-21.[4].
  7. ^ Sci Fi For Kids. With a "ridiculousness rating" of 3. Retrieved 2008-06-21.<http://riddleburger.wordpress.com/category/sci-fi-for-kids/>
  8. ^ Good science fiction, like good nonsense or fantasy. must be firmly grounded in the world of reality. RootsWeb at Ancestry.com, bio of Ellen MacGregor. Retrieved 2008-06-21. [5].

External links edit

May 11, 2024
ellen, macgregor, 1906, march, 1954, american, children, writer, known, best, miss, pickerell, series, children, novels, born15, 1906, baltimore, died29, march, 1954, aged, chicago, occupationlibrarian, science, fiction, writer, contents, life, library, career. Ellen MacGregor May 15 1906 March 29 1954 was an American children s writer She is known best for the Miss Pickerell series of children s novels Ellen MacGregorBorn15 May 1906 Baltimore Died29 March 1954 aged 47 Chicago OccupationLibrarian science fiction writer Contents 1 Life 2 Library career 3 Writing career 4 Published books 4 1 Written by MacGregor 4 2 Miss Pickerell extended 4 3 By Dora Pantell 5 The Miss Pickerell series 5 1 Science in Miss Pickerell 6 References 7 External linksLife editShe was born in Baltimore Maryland to George Malcolm MacGregor and Charlotte Genevieve Noble MacGregor and was educated in schools in Garfield and Kent Washington She attended the University of Washington in Seattle receiving a Bachelor of Science in library science in 1926 She did postgraduate work in science at the University of California Berkeley She worked in numerous libraries wrote several well received children s books and numerous magazine articles and died in 1954 at the age of 47 1 Library career editMacGregor worked in many jobs She was a librarian for the elementary schools of the Central Hawaii School district and a cataloguer in the Hilo Library in Hawaii She supervised the compilation of the Union Catalog of Art in Chicago and was a research librarian with International Harvester in Chicago Illinois She worked in Florida as a librarian at the Naval Operating Base in Key West and organized and administered the library at the Naval Air Technical Training Center She did research in children s literature for Scott Foresman and Company served as the serials librarian of the Chicago Undergraduate Division of the University of Illinois and was an editor of the Illinois Women s Press Association monthly bulletin Pen Points Writing career editMacGregor began to write for publication in 1946 A story that she submitted at that time for a class at the Midwestern Writers Conference was later published as the book Tommy and the Telephone The first appearance of Miss Pickerell her famous and quirky major character was in the short story Swept her into Space published in Liberty during 1950 She expanded it to book length published in 1951 as Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars a science fiction novel for children MacGregor s goal was to provide fantasy literature with correct for the time scientific facts that would appeal to children Miss Pickerell was well received by critics such as Virginia Kirkus who wrote A lively novelty Fact and fancy in a new venture for this age group It was also released as the initial selection of the new Weekly Reader Children s Book Club Three other Miss Pickerell adventures followed before MacGregor s early death Besides these books many of MacGregor s stories appeared in magazines of that period such as Story World The Instructor and Christian Home Published books editWritten by MacGregor edit Tommy and the Telephone illustrated by Zabeth Chicago Whitman 1947 Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars illus Paul Galdone New York McGraw Hill 1951 London Blackie and Son 1957 Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter illus Galdone McGraw Hill 1953 Blackie 1958 Miss Pickerell Goes Undersea illus Galdone McGraw Hill 1953 Blackie 1959 The fourth Miss Pickerell story and three others written by MacGregor were published by McGraw Hill after her death Miss Pickerell Goes to the Arctic illus Galdone McGraw Hill 1954 Blackie 1960 Theodore Turtle illus Galdone McGraw Hill 1955 London Faber 1956 Mr Ferguson of the Fire Department illus Galdone McGraw Hill 1956 Mr Pringle and Mr Buttonhouse illus Galdone McGraw Hill 1957 Miss Pickerell extended edit Eleven Miss Pickerell books were published as by Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell that is credited to co authors After MacGregor s death in 1954 McGraw Hill searched unsuccessfully for someone to continue the series until 1964 when they selected Dora Pantell a social worker and a writer of publicity and educational curricula In addition to children s books Pantell wrote numerous textbooks and manuals mainly on teaching of English as a second language 2 Since the later books of the series deal with issues or themes that did not exist or were not apparent during MacGregor s lifetime energy crisis computers artificial satellites it seems clear that Ms Pantell was continuing in the spirit of Ellen MacGregor and Miss Pickerell These 11 books were all published by McGraw Hill and illustrated by Charles Geer Miss Pickerell on the Moon by Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell illus Geer McGraw Hill 1965 Miss Pickerell Goes on a Dig 1966 Miss Pickerell Harvests the Sea 1968 Miss Pickerell and the Weather Satellite 1971 Miss Pickerell Meets Mr H U M 1971 Miss Pickerell Takes the Bull by the Horns 1976 Miss Pickerell to the Earthquake Rescue 1977 Miss Pickerell and the Supertanker 1978 Miss Pickerell Tackles the Energy Crisis 1980 Miss Pickerell on the Trail 1982 Miss Pickerell and the Blue Whales 1983 By Dora Pantell edit A different New York publisher Franklin Watts issued the last two stories as by Dora Pantell alone with the statement Series originated by Ellen MacGregor Miss Pickerell and the War of the Computers by Pantell illus Charles Geer F Watts 1986 Miss Pickerell and the Lost World by Pantell illus Geer F Watts 1986 The Miss Pickerell series editMacGregor is best known as an author from the Miss Pickerell children s science fiction series although only four of them were published in her lifetime She left sufficient notes on planned future novels to enable Dora Pantell to write and publish Miss Pickerell books the last one Miss Pickerell and the Lost World appearing in 1986 Miss Lavinia Pickerell is an unlikely heroine prim spinsterly angular and stiff wearing old fashioned clothes and an outlandish hat and devoted to her pet cat she nevertheless manages to inadvertently stow away on a rocket to Mars in her first adventure But with her common sense practicality and unflappable demeanor she manages to bring each adventure to a satisfactory conclusion She is every child s favorite maiden aunt and is possibly modeled after MacGregor herself The series resembles others that are written by other writers long after the deaths of their creators such as Tom Swift and Nancy Drew But only one other author has written in the Miss Pickerell universe for publication 3 Dora Pantell who was also responsible for bringing other Ellen MacGregor conceived projects to completion Later writers who indicated that Miss Pickerell had been either an influence or a favorite include such authors as Harry Turtledove 4 Susan Page Davis 5 6 and Sam Riddleburger 7 Science in Miss Pickerell edit MacGregor included valid scientific facts in her Miss Pickerell books Some of the topics she addressed were weightlessness in space travel atomic energy and carbon 14 dating nuclear powered submarines and the continental shelf the bends affecting divers who surface too rapidly and many others To Mars to the Arctic above the ground or below Miss Pickerell is dauntless intrepid and eager It s all good fun but with a bonus The scientific basis of each of the Miss Pickerell stories is scrupulously accurate Although she was careful not to overburden her fragile plots with didactic passages explaining gravity radiation etc Ellen MacGregor managed very skillfully to incorporate a good deal of information that a child reader could absorb almost without realizing it With rare judgement she gauged just how much to present to the 8 12 s who are Miss Pickerell s audience A clear picture in bald outline rather than a mass of confusing and discouraging detail is most apt to appeal to and instruct that active age group 8 References edit Biographical entry for Ellen MacGregor at RootsWeb Ancestry com Retrieved 2008 06 21 1 The Miss Pickerell series Archived 2016 04 10 at the Wayback Machine Iowa State University iastate edu The Miss Pickerell series Iowa Public Schools Retrieved 2008 06 21 2 Archived 2016 04 10 at the Wayback Machine Author Editor Interview at Baen Books 2005 I think I found the Miss Pickerell stories and the Mushroom Planet books when I was in about the third grade Retrieved 2015 09 04 Interview with Harry Turtledove Baen Books Archived from the original on 2015 09 10 Retrieved 2015 09 03 At the Chat n Chew Cafe with Crystal Laine Miller Interview with Susan Page Davis Her Favorite Childhood Book Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars Retrieved 2008 06 21 3 Susan Page Davis Author Retrieved 2008 06 21 4 Sci Fi For Kids With a ridiculousness rating of 3 Retrieved 2008 06 21 lt http riddleburger wordpress com category sci fi for kids gt Good science fiction like good nonsense or fantasy must be firmly grounded in the world of reality RootsWeb at Ancestry com bio of Ellen MacGregor Retrieved 2008 06 21 5 External links edit nbsp Children s literature portal nbsp Science fiction portal Works by Ellen MacGregor at Faded Page Canada Ellen MacGregor at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Ellen MacGregor at Library of Congress with 20 library catalog records Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ellen MacGregor amp oldid 1217669020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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