Frances Cavanah

Frances Cavanah found it hard to decide which she enjoyed more—writing or editing books for young people. A native Hoosier, she graduated from DePauw University and then joined the staff of the old Child Life. One of her duties as associate editor was to read thousands of letters that poured in from youthful subscribers, and the insight she gained into their thinking proved invaluable. Later, she was biography editor of a young people's encyclopedia, and then director of Real People, a series of biographies widely used in schools. She combined her talents as an editor and as a writer in several anthologies. They Lived in the White House, though not strictly an anthology, includes several firsthand accounts by younger members of our Presidential households, thus sharpening the sense of immediacy that Miss Cavanaugh strove for in all her books.

Miss Cavenaugh authored Two Loves for Jenny Lind, the story of the beloved singer's American tour and romance; Holiday Roundup, in collaboration with Lucille Pannell; and We Came to America, based on first-person accounts of people from other lands. Two of her titles were made into "talking books," and several were transcribed into Brailed and translated into other languages.