In discussions of stories about families, the name Eleanor Estes invariably arises. Many readers recall the antics of the Moffats and the Pyes; some may also know the families of the Little Witch Girl Hannah, Connie Ives, Nicholas Caroll, and Kim Chu. For Ginger Pye , Estes received the Herald Tribune Spring Book Festival Award in 1951 and the Newbery Medal in 1952. Then in 1962 she was given the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Literature, and in 1970 she was nominated for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. Most critics of children's literature praise Estes for her perceptive and evocative portraits of family life, recognizing especially her creation of the Moffat books as a significant and lasting contribution to the family story as a subgenre. Her principal merits as a writer in this subgenre stem from her abilities to portray unique characters, to name them precisely and unforgettably, to evoke a strong sense of place, to capture the small, telling detail and event, to elicit laughter, and to immerse the reader in the experience of a child's perception of reality.
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