Elizabeth Borton de Treviño facts for kids
Mary Elizabeth Victoria Borton de Treviño (born September 2, 1904 – died December 2, 2001) was an American author. She is famous for writing books, and she even won a special award called the Newbery Medal for one of her stories.
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Early Life and Dreams
Elizabeth was born in Bakersfield, California. Her family loved to read, and her dad, Fred, even wrote short stories and poems. From a young age, Elizabeth knew she wanted to be a writer. She started writing poems when she was just six years old, and her first poem was published when she was eight! Her parents really supported her dream.
She went to Stanford University and graduated in 1925. She studied Latin American History, which probably helped her later when she wrote books set in Mexico.
Life in Mexico
After college, Elizabeth moved to Massachusetts to study violin. Then, she worked as a reporter, which is a great job for a writer!
On August 10, 1935, she married Luis Jorge Treviño Arreola y Gómez Sánchez de la Barquera. She moved to his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. They had two sons, Luis Federico and Enrique Ricardo. The family lived in Monterrey for a while, then moved to Mexico City in 1941. Later, in 1965, they moved to Cuernavaca, Morelos, a city often called the "City of Eternal Spring" because of its lovely weather.
Award-Winning Stories
Elizabeth's book, I, Juan de Pareja, won the important Newbery Medal in 1966. This award is given to the best children's book published in the United States.
The idea for I, Juan de Pareja came from her older son, Luis, who loved art. He told her the story of a famous artist named Diego Velázquez and his helper, Juan de Pareja. Juan was a slave, but Velázquez taught him how to paint and later set him free. After seeing Velázquez's painting of Juan, Elizabeth was inspired to write their story. Her younger son, Enrique, even helped by translating the book into Spanish!
Other Books You Might Enjoy
Elizabeth wrote many other exciting novels. Some of them include Nacar the White Deer, The Greek of Toledo, and Casilda of the Rising Moon. She also wrote five books in the popular "Pollyanna" series, like Pollyanna in Hollywood and Pollyanna's Castle in Mexico.
She also shared stories about her own life as an American living in a traditional Mexican family. These memoirs include My Heart Lies South and Where the Heart Is. Her last book, Leona: A Love Story, was published in 1994 when she was 90 years old!
Later Years and Legacy
Elizabeth Treviño passed away on December 2, 2001, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the age of 97. Her husband, Luis, had passed away earlier in 1988.
Her older son, Luis, became an artist. Her younger son, Enrique, became a lawyer and lived in London for many years. He had three children: Daniel Enrique, Elizabeth Victoria, and León Ricardo.
Elizabeth's novel The Music Within even inspired another American writer, Ray Downs, to become an author. Ray was an English teacher in Cuernavaca and often visited Elizabeth. Interestingly, two of his students were Elizabeth's grandchildren, Daniel Enrique and Elizabeth Victoria!
