Katharine Pyle

Born on November 22, 1863, in Wilmington, Delaware, the last of four children, Pyle enjoyed art and writing. She thrived in her family's creative, loving atmosphere, and at age sixteen, she wrote a poem called "The Piping Shepherd" which was published in the Atlantic Monthly. Her brother, Howard, requested drawings and verses from her to put in his book The Wonder Clock. Educated at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women and at Drexel Institute in Howard's class, Pyle then saw two of her drawings exhibited as well as a play and a book published. Overall she penned and illustrated almost thirty books. She also either wrote the text or provided the illustrations for many more projects, including Anna Sewell's Black Beauty.

Concerned about society in general and youth in particular, Pyle assisted the Juvenile Court of Wilmington. She helped those in need, regardless of personal cost. One other distinctive quality of this author, illustrator, and social reform advocate was that she had one brown eye and one blue eye. Pyle passed on February 19, 1938, in Wilmington.