Pearl A. Harwood

Pearl A. Harwood (December 21, 1903 – October 28, 1998), born Pearl Augusta Bragdon, was an American librarian and writer of children's books.

Pearl A. Harwood
A young white woman with wavy bobbed hair, wearing a dark fur stole
Pearl A. Bragdon, from the 1924 yearbook of Mount Holyoke College
Born
Pearl Augusta Bragdon

December 21, 1903
Grafton, Massachusetts
DiedOctober 28, 1998
Florida
Occupation(s)Writer, educator, librarian

Early life and education

Pearl Augusta Bragdon was born in Grafton, Massachusetts and raised in New Rochelle, New York,[1] the daughter of Clifford Sawyer Bragdon and Helen Louise Woodside Bragdon. Her father was a school principal.[2] Her mother died in 1909, and her father remarried in 1911. She earned a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1924,[1] and a master's degree in education from Boston University.

Her older sister Helen Dalton Bragdon was also a writer and educator.[3]

Career

As a young woman, Bragdon was a research assistant at Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts.[4] After marriage Harwood taught and worked as a children's librarian in Southern California.[5][6] She served on the board of the Friends of the Escondido Public Library in the 1970s.[7] She was active in the Women's Club of Escondido and the Braille Club of Escondido.[8][9]

Harwood wrote over thirty children's books, beginning in 1964 with the first "Mr. Bumba" books. She wrote ten "Mr. Bumba" books, ten "Mrs. Moon" books, and ten books about the two characters together, all picture books first published between 1964 and 1971, and illustrated by George Overlie or Joseph Folger. She wrote other books, including The Widdles (1966), a book about children in Hawaii, illustrated by Henning Black Jensen,[10] and Secrets of the Trees in the Village by the Sea (1971).[11][12]

Selected books by Pearl A. Harwood
  • Mr. Bumba's New Job (1964)[13]
  • Mr. Bumba's New Home (1964)[14]
  • Mr. Bumba and the Orange Grove (1965)[15]
  • The Widdles (1966)[10]
  • Mr. Bumba Draws a Kitten (1966)[16]
  • Mrs. Moon's Rescue (1967)[17]
  • Mrs. Moon and the Dark Stairs (1967)[18]
  • Mrs. Moon Goes Shopping (1967)[19]
  • Mrs. Moon and her Friends (1967)[20]
  • Mrs. Moon's Polliwogs (1967)[21]
  • A Special Guest for Mr. and Mrs Bumba (1971)[22]
  • New Year's Day with Mr. and Mrs. Bumba (1971)[23]
  • Climbing a Mountain with Mr. and Mrs. Bumba (1971)[24]
  • A Long Vacation for Mr. and Mrs. Bumba (1971)[25]
  • The Carnival with Mr. and Mrs. Bumba (1971)[26]
  • Secrets of the Trees in the Village by the Sea (1971)[27]

Personal life

Pearl Bragdon married Lester Everett Harwood in 1933. Her husband was from Vermont and sold insurance, before her retired and founded the Pet Assistance Foundation in Escondido.[28][29] They had twin sons.[30] She was president of the Mothers of Twins Club in Crescenta-Cañada-Glendale in the early 1960s.[31] She died in 1998, aged 94 years, in Florida. Her papers are in the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.[5]

References
  1. Mount Holyoke College, Llamarada (1924 yearbook): 66.
  2. "Mr. Clifford S. Bragdon". Orlando Evening Star. 1956-01-19. p. 46. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Bragdon, Helen Dalton (1929). Counseling the College Student. Johnson Reprint Corporation. ISBN 978-0-384-05490-5.
  4. Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind Department of Research (1927). Ten Years of Psychological Research in Schools for the Blind. p. 12.
  5. Pearl Harwood Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.
  6. Harwood, Pearl (1960-12-19). "Library Notes". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Friends of Library re-elect president". Times-Advocate. 1974-08-30. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Library Shows Children's Films". Times-Advocate. 1973-05-02. p. 30. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Here and there". Times-Advocate. 1969-09-16. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "For Young Readers". Rapid City Journal. 1966-09-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  11. "Harwood, Pearl Augusta" OCLC World Cat Identities.
  12. "Fantasy on Trees". Times-Advocate. 1971-06-20. p. 62. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Harwood, Pearl A. (1964). Mr. Bumba's New Job. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0105-3.
  14. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1964). Mr. Bumba's New Home. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0101-5.
  15. Ammon, Francesca Russello (2012). "Unearthing Benny the Bulldozer: The Culture of Clearance in Postwar Children's Books". Technology and Culture. 53 (2): 326. doi:10.1353/tech.2012.0053. ISSN 1097-3729. PMID 22849246. S2CID 12092003.
  16. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1966). Mr. Bumba Draws a Kitten. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0107-7.
  17. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1967). Mrs. Moon's Rescue. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0118-3.
  18. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1967). Mrs. Moon and the Dark Stairs. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0117-6.
  19. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1967). Mrs. Moon Goes Shopping. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0115-2.
  20. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1967). Mrs. Moon and Her Friends. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0112-1.
  21. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1967). Mrs. Moon's Polliwogs. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0113-8.
  22. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1971). A Special Guest for Mr. and Mrs. Bumba. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0123-7.
  23. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1971). New Year's Day with Mr. and Mrs. Bumba. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0127-5.
  24. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1971). Climbing a Mountain with Mr. and Mrs. Bumba. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0129-9.
  25. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1971). A Long Vacation for Mr. and Mrs. Bumba. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0121-3.
  26. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1971). The Carnival with Mr. and Mrs. Bumba. Lerner Publications Company. ISBN 978-0-8225-0128-2.
  27. Harwood, Pearl Augusta (1971). Secret of the Trees in the Village by the Sea. Becket Books.
  28. "Bennington Briefs". The Bennington Evening Banner. 1955-09-17. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. Weaver, Carol (1978-04-13). "Pet Group Advocates Fewer Animal Births". Times-Advocate. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. "Twins Club to Install". The Los Angeles Times. 1961-06-11. p. 159. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. "Mothers of Twins Club to Install". The Los Angeles Times. 1962-06-10. p. 190. Retrieved 2021-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
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