Carolyn Haywood

Carolyn Haywood is the author and illustrator of the beloved Betsy children's series. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Haywood was born there on January 3, 1898 and spent most of her life in that city. She attended high school and Philadelphia Normal School until 1922, when she began teaching. Although she only taught for a year, Haywood was left with an impression that was to aid her in her later career as a children's author. In 1923 she entered Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she took her studies seriously and nurtured her lifelong love of drawing and painting. An artist from childhood, Haywood soon furthered her portrait painting and illustration skills. Under the influence of several talented illustrators and children's writers, she set out to author quality books for primary readers. Haywood's 1939 story "B" is for Betsy achieved immense popularity, and during a fifty-year span she developed the Betsy series as well as the Eddieand Penny books, all of which pertain to the lives of children. Apart from writing in Philadelphia, Haywood published stories in magazines, painted murals all around the city, traveled, and saw many of her stories translated into foreign languages. Haywood died at her home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, on January 11, 1990.