Katherine Paterson
American children's novelist and two-time Newbery Medal winner.
Katherine Paterson (born Katherine Womeldorf on October 31, 1932) is an American author famous for her children’s books, most notably *Bridge to Terabithia* (1977), which earned the Newbery Medal in 1978. Between 1973 and 1980, she published four award-winning books: *The Sign of the Chrysanthemum* (1973, National Book Award), *The Master Puppeteer* (1975, National Book Award), *Bridge to Terabithia* (1977, Newbery Medal), and *Jacob Have I Loved* (1980, Newbery Medal). She is among only four people to have received both of the top international honors for children’s literature: the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (1998) and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2006). In addition, she was the second person to serve as the U.S. National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, holding the role from 2010 to 2011.
Paterson was born in Huai’an, China (then the Republic of China) to Presbyterian missionaries George Raymond and Mary Womeldorf. Her father supported the family by preaching and running a boys’ school. The family lived in a Chinese neighborhood and fully engaged with Chinese culture. She attended the Shanghai American School, where they briefly lived in the school dormitories. When she was five, the family fled China during the Japanese invasion of 1937, and they returned to the United States at the start of World War II. During the war, her parents and four siblings lived in Virginia and North Carolina. After their return to China was delayed indefinitely, they moved around various towns in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia before settling in Winchester, Virginia. In total, the family moved 15 times over 13 years.
Chinese was Paterson’s first language, so she initially struggled with reading and writing English. She overcame this and graduated summa cum laude from King College in Bristol, Tennessee, in 1954 with a degree in English. She then taught for a year at a rural elementary school in Virginia before attending graduate school. She earned a master’s degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, where she studied Bible and Christian education. She had hoped to become a missionary in China, but the country’s borders were closed to Westerners. A Japanese friend encouraged her to go to Japan instead, where she worked as a missionary and Christian education assistant.
- Born
- October 31, 1932
- Field
- Children's literature
- Nationality
- American
- Known for
- Bridge to Terabithia, two Newbery Medals, two National Book Awards
Lore & Background
Katherine Womeldorf was born in Huai'an, Republic of China (now China) to Presbyterian missionaries. Her family fled China during the Japanese invasion of 1937 and returned to the United States at the onset of World War II. They moved 15 times over 13 years across Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Her first language was Chinese, and she initially struggled with English reading and writing. She graduated summa cum laude from King College in 1954, earned a master's degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, and worked as a missionary and Christian education assistant in Japan, where she studied Japanese and Chinese culture.
Paterson began writing professionally in 1964, creating curriculum materials for the Presbyterian Church. Her first children's novel, The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, was published in 1973.
Reader's Guide
Katherine Paterson's significance lies in her unflinching yet compassionate treatment of difficult themes such as death, loss, and jealousy in children's literature. Her novel Bridge to Terabithia, which won the Newbery Medal in 1978, helped pave the way for more realistic writing for young people. She is one of only four people to win both the Hans Christian Andersen Award (1998) and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2006), the two major international career awards. Her body of work also earned the NSK Neustadt Prize (2007) and the Children's Literature Legacy Award (2013). Paterson's own childhood experiences of displacement and loneliness informed her protagonists, who are often orphaned or estranged children navigating crises largely on their own. Her legacy endures through her novels, which continue to be read and adapted, and through her advocacy for literacy as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.
Did You Know?
- Paterson's first language was Chinese, and she initially had difficulty reading and writing English.
- She was inspired to write Bread and Roses, Too after seeing a photograph of 35 children captioned 'Children of Lawrence Massachusetts, Bread and Roses Strike come to Barre'.
- Her son David L. Paterson was a producer and screenwriter for the 2007 film adaptation of Bridge to Terabithia.
- She dedicated a tree in memory of Lisa Hill, the inspiration for Bridge to Terabithia, to Takoma Park Elementary School in 2005.
More in Women Writers Of The 20Th Century 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced