Catherine Cate Coblentz facts for kids

Catherine Cate Coblentz (born June 5, 1897 – died May 30, 1951) was an American writer. She is best known for her children's books, which she wrote in the 1930s and 1940s. Her books were so good that she won important awards like the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and was recognized with a Newbery Honor.

Life and Work

This marker shows where the Coblentz family is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington.

Catherine Cate Coblentz grew up in Hardwick, Vermont. During World War I, she worked at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. There, she met William Coblentz, a scientist who studied infrared light. They got married on June 10, 1924. They had two daughters, but sadly, both passed away when they were young.

In 1924, Catherine Coblentz published a poem about the planet Mars in Popular Astronomy magazine. This was the same year her husband was measuring Mars's temperature at the Lowell Observatory. Later, Mrs. Coblentz became a very successful writer of children's books. Her book, The Blue Cat of Castle Town, won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. It was also named a Newbery Honor book. Some of her older books are still around today and are even collected by people!

Catherine Coblentz earned her B.A. degree from George Washington University in 1930. Because of her amazing writing, her university gave her a special award in 1945. It was called the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

In the 1940s, Catherine Coblentz helped raise money to buy land for the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library. This library was built on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C. Inside the library, you can still see special windows. These windows have pictures on them that are based on her books.

Catherine Cate Coblentz, her husband, and one of their infant daughters are buried together. They rest in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Books

Here are some of the books Catherine Cate Coblentz wrote. The dates are about when they were published.

• Animal Pioneers (1936)
• The Blue and Silver Necklace (1937)
• The Pan American Highway (1942)
• The Falcon of Eric the Red (1942)
• The Bells of Leyden (1944)
• The Amazon (1944)
• Sequoya (1946)
• Scatter, the Chipmunk (1946)
• Martin and Abraham Lincoln (1947)
• Ah-yo-ka: Daughter of Sequoya (1950)
• The Beggars' Penny (1943)

Images for kids

• 

  Coblentz in 1947

See also

In Spanish: Catherine Cate Coblentz para niños