Armstrong Sperry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Armstrong Wells Sperry
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| Born | November 7, 1897 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Died | April 26, 1976 (aged 78) Hanover, New Hampshire, US |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Period | 1933–? |
| Genre | Children's literature, Including Biography,Historical Fiction. |
| Spouse | Margaret Mitchell Robertson, M.D. |
| Children | Susan, John |
Armstrong Wells Sperry (born November 7, 1897 – died April 26, 1976) was an American writer and illustrator. He is famous for his exciting children's literature. His books often tell stories of historical fiction and biography. Many of his tales are set on sailing ships or feature boys from places like Polynesia, Asia, and Native American cultures. Sperry is best known for his book Call It Courage, which won the important Newbery Medal in 1941.
Becoming an Artist and Explorer
Armstrong Sperry was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the youngest of three sons. From 1915 to 1918, he studied art at the Art Students League of New York. He also attended the Yale School of Art before joining the United States Navy at the end of World War I.
As a boy, Sperry loved reading adventure stories by authors like Herman Melville and Robert Louis Stevenson. These books, especially one called White Shadows in the South Seas, inspired him to travel. From 1920 to 1921, he explored the South Pacific. He visited many islands, including Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, and Hawaii. He even had some of his paintings from these travels shown in an art exhibit in New York City.
In 1924, Sperry joined a scientific research trip on a yacht called the Kaimiloa. They sailed from Hawaii to many islands, including Tahiti and Bora Bora. Even while doing scientific work, he kept painting and showing his art.
After his travels, Sperry returned to New York. He worked as an illustrator, drawing pictures for advertisements and adventure stories. He also illustrated books for other writers. One famous book he illustrated was Tarzan and the Lost Empire by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1929. In 1930, he married Margaret Robertson, a medical doctor he had met in Hawaii.
From Illustrator to Award-Winning Author
Armstrong Sperry's first book, One Day with Manu, came out in 1933. It was a colorful story about daily life in Bora Bora. When reading his books today, it's good to remember the time and place they were written.
Sperry's great-grandfather was a sea captain. This inspired Sperry's love for the ocean and led him to write All Sail Set. This book is about the famous clipper ship Flying Cloud. It won him a Newbery Honor Book award in 1936.
Sperry and his family lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a year. This experience inspired several more books, including Wagons Westward: The Story of the Old Trail to Santa Fe (1936) and Little Eagle, a Navaho Boy (1938).
On February 13, 1940, Sperry's most famous book, Call It Courage, was published. This story is about a brave young boy on the island of Hikueru in Polynesia. Sperry wrote and illustrated the book himself. He won the prestigious Newbery Medal for Call It Courage in 1941. When he accepted the award, he said that he believed children could understand big ideas like courage if they were explained honestly.
During World War II, Sperry moved to Hanover, New Hampshire. He continued to write and win awards. In 1944, he won the New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival Award for Storm Canvas. This book tells the story of a boy on a U.S. frigate (a type of warship) in 1814. In 1949, he won the Boys' Clubs of America Junior Book Award for his 1947 book, The Rain Forest.
Even after becoming a successful writer, Sperry kept illustrating books for other well-known authors. He also illustrated many school textbooks. In 1951, he illustrated a version of Longfellow's Story of Hiawatha.
Popular Books Still Available
Call It Courage has been in print since 1940 and has been translated into many languages. This means people all over the world can still read his most famous story. Other books by Sperry that have been reissued (printed again) include:
- Call It Courage
- All Sail Set
- Wagons Westward
- John Paul Jones, The Pirate Patriot
