Second-hand books by Jean Craighead George from £10.12

About Jean Craighead George

Birth

1919

Death

2012

First book

1959

Years writing

67

Biography

Jean Carolyn Craighead George was an American writer of more than one hundred books for children and young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and Newbery Honor My Side of the Mountain. Common themes in George's works are the environment and the natural world. Beside children's fiction, she wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods and one autobiography published 30 years before her death, Journey Inward.

Jean Craighead George grew up in a family of naturalists, which deeply shaped her lifelong love for wildlife.

Her very first pet was a turkey vulture, a detail that reflects her early fascination with the natural world.

Before focusing on literature, she worked as a reporter for The Washington Post and served in the White House Press Corps.

Her academic background was multidisciplinary, as she graduated in 1940 with degrees in both English and Science.

Throughout her prolific career, she wrote over 100 books, excelling in children's and young adult literature with a focus on ecology.