"With her first book, Across Five Aprils," writes Clyde Robert Bulla in Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, "Irene Hunt established herself as one of America's finest historical novelists." In her works Hunt explores places and time periods ranging from 1860s Illinois to the Depression-era Rocky Mountains. Despite what Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books contributor Zena Sutherland calls her "historically authenticated" details, however, Hunt's strength lies in creating realistic characters learning to cope with their problems and maturing in the process. Her devotion to quality literature for children brought her a Newbery Medal honor citation in 1965 for her first book, Across Five Aprils, and her second book, Up a Road Slowly, won the award itself in 1967. "She has proven that she can write good books for children that please adults as well," states Philip A. Sadler in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "and she has established an international audience."
Irene Hunt was born in Pontiac, IL--a small town about halfway between Springfield and Chicago--in 1907.
