Brent Ashabranner facts for kids

Brent Kenneth Ashabranner (born November 3, 1921, died December 1, 2016) was an amazing American writer. He wrote over 30 books, mostly non-fiction for young people, and won more than 40 awards! He also worked for the Peace Corps, helping people in different countries around the world.

Early Life and Education

Brent Ashabranner was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1921. His father was a pharmacist. When Brent was five, his family moved to El Reno, Oklahoma. There, his parents bought a pharmacy. Sadly, during the Great Depression in 1932, his father lost the drugstore.

A year later, his family moved to Bristow, Oklahoma. Brent loved to read and write in school. He became very interested in other countries. He also enjoyed sports like track and tennis. He finished high school in 1939.

Brent went to Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University–Stillwater). He studied English. At the school library, he discovered many famous writers like Hemingway. While at college, he met Martha White, who would become his wife.

To earn extra money, Brent's English professor suggested he write "pulp fiction." This was a type of story printed on cheap paper. Brent chose to write Western stories. He earned a penny for each word, which meant $50 for a 5,000-word story! He and Martha got married in 1941.

Serving in World War II

Five months after Brent and Martha married, America entered World War II. Brent joined the U.S. Navy's Construction Battalion, known as the Seabees. He trained near Williamsburg, Virginia. Because of his education, he worked in the camp's office for two years. During this time, his wife Martha moved to Williamsburg to be with him.

Later, Brent was assigned to naval amphibious forces. His ship traveled across much of the Pacific Ocean. The war ended in August 1945. After the war, Brent and Martha returned to Stillwater in 1946. They went back to Oklahoma A&M. Brent kept writing and selling his stories. They both earned their college degrees in 1948. Brent then earned a master's degree in English in 1951. He became an instructor in the English department. They had two daughters in the early 1950s.

Working Around the World

In 1955, Brent Ashabranner got an exciting chance to work in Africa. Oklahoma A&M was asked to help Ethiopia start an agricultural college. Later, Ethiopia needed help creating school books. Brent was asked to be an advisor for this project. The job was supposed to last two years. But instead, Brent and his family ended up living in Africa and Asia for 25 years!

Helping in Ethiopia

Brent's job in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was to start two magazines. These magazines were like My Weekly Reader in the U.S. One magazine was for elementary students. It was written in Amharic, Ethiopia's national language. The other was for older students and written in English. The goal was to teach young readers about their country's history and culture.

Brent and his work partner, Russel Davis, traveled around Ethiopia. They visited historic places like Aksum. They also met different cultural groups. They used what they learned to write educational stories for their magazines. They also wrote their first book together, The Lion's Whiskers, published in 1959.

Adventures in Libya and Nigeria

After their time in Ethiopia, Brent was asked to help in Libya. He decided to leave his job at Oklahoma State University. His family moved to Libya. Brent and Russel Davis continued to write books together, even though Russel went back to the U.S. One of their books from this time was Ten Thousand Desert Swords (1960).

Next, the family moved to Nigeria. Nigeria was about to become independent from Britain. While Brent was there, U.S. President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps. The first director of the Peace Corps, Sargent Shriver, visited Nigeria. Brent was asked to show him around. Shriver then asked Brent to help set up the Peace Corps program in Nigeria. While in Nigeria, Brent also wrote his last and most popular book with Russel Davis, Land in the Sun: The Story of West Africa (1963).

Peace Corps Leadership in India and America

Brent's next job was in India. He became the local director of the Peace Corps program there. In 1965, India's Peace Corps program became the largest in the world! After almost four years in India, Brent was asked to return to America. He became the deputy director for the entire international Peace Corps program. He bought a house in Maryland, near Washington, D.C.. His daughters graduated from high school there.

Brent and his wife then moved overseas again. He worked for the Ford Foundation, a group that helps people. They lived in the Philippines and then Indonesia in 1976.

Becoming a Full-Time Author

In 1980, Brent and his wife returned to America. They wanted to be closer to their daughters. Brent decided to focus full-time on writing non-fiction books for young readers. Many of his later books had pictures by Paul Conklin, an artist Brent first met in Nigeria.

His daughter Jennifer also drew pictures for several of his books. Her first was Always to Remember (1988), which was about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Brent also worked with his daughter Melissa on books like Into a Strange Land (1987). In 1988, Brent and his wife moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. Brent published his last book in 2002. He once said he would keep writing as long as he lived.

Legacy and Passing

Brent Ashabranner passed away on December 1, 2016. He was remembered by his wife, daughters, grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

Another author, Muriel Miller Branch, said that Brent was a mentor to her. He was the first person to see her writing talent. Brent's wife, Martha, passed away in 2020 at the age of 98.

Published Works for Young Readers

Brent Ashabranner wrote many books for children and young adults. Here are some of them:

• The Lion's Whiskers (with Russell Davis), 1959
• Point Four Assignment: Stories from the Records of Those Who Work in Foreign Fields for the Mutual Security of Free Nations (with Russell Davis), 1959
• Ten Thousand Desert Swords (with Russell Davis), 1960
• The Choctaw Code (with Russell Davis), 1961
• Chief Joseph: War Chief of the Nez Percé (with Russell Davis), 1962
• Land in the Sun: The Story of West Africa (with Russell Davis), 1963
• Strangers in Africa (with Russell Davis), 1963
• Morning Star, Black Sun: The Northern Cheyenne Indians and America's Energy Crisis, 1982
• The New Americans: Changing Patterns in U.S. Immigration, 1983
• To Live in Two Worlds: American Indian Youth Today, 1984
• Gavriel and Jemal: Two Boys of Jerusalem, 1984
• Dark Harvest: Migrant Farmworkers in America, 1985
• Children of the Maya: A Guatemalan Indian Odyssey, 1986
• Into a Strange Land: Unaccompanied Refugee Youth in America (with Melissa Ashabranner), 1987
• The Vanishing Border: A Photographic Journey along Our Frontier with Mexico, 1987
• Always to Remember: The Story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1988
• Born to the Land: An American Portrait, 1989
• I'm in the Zoo, Too!, 1989
• Counting America: The Story of the United States Census (with Melissa Ashabranner), 1989
• People Who Make a Difference, 1989
• A Grateful Nation: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery, 1990
• The Times of My Life: A Memoir, 1990
• Crazy about German Shepherds, 1990
• An Ancient Heritage: The Arab-American Minority, 1991
• Land of Yesterday, Land of Tomorrow: Discovering Chinese Central Asia, 1992
• A Memorial for Mr. Lincoln, 1992
• Still a Nation of Immigrants, 1993
• A New Frontier: The Peace Corps in Eastern Europe, 1994
• Lithuania: The Nation That Would Be Free (with Stephen Chicoine), 1996
• Our Beckoning Borders: Illegal Immigration to America, 1996
• A Strange and Distant Shore: Indians of the Great Plains in Exile, 1996
• To Seek a Better World: The Haitian Minority in America, 1997
• Their Names to Live: What the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Means to America, 1998
• The New African Americans, 1999
• Badge of Valor: The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, 2000
• A Date with Destiny: The Women in Military Service for America Memorial, 2000
• No Better Hope: What the Lincoln Memorial Means to America, 2001
• Remembering Korea: The Korean War Veterans Memorial, 2001
• On the Mall in Washington, D.C.: A Visit to America's Front Yard, 2002
• The Washington Monument: A Beacon for America, 2002