Ellen MacGregor facts for kids

Ellen MacGregor (born May 15, 1906 – died March 29, 1954) was an American writer who created books for children. She is most famous for her exciting Miss Pickerell series of children's novels.

About Ellen MacGregor

Ellen MacGregor was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She grew up and went to school in places like Garfield, Washington and Kent, Washington. She studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she earned a degree in library science in 1926. She also did more studies in science at the University of California, Berkeley. Ellen MacGregor worked in many libraries and wrote several popular children's books and magazine stories. She passed away in 1954 when she was 47 years old.

Ellen's Library Work

Ellen MacGregor had many different jobs as a librarian. She worked in elementary schools in Hawaii and helped organize books in the Hilo Library there. She also helped put together a big list of art books in Chicago. She was a research librarian for a company called International Harvester in Chicago, Illinois.

Later, she worked in Florida at a Navy base library in Key West. She even set up and managed a library at a Naval Air training center. She researched children's books for a publishing company and was a librarian at the University of Illinois. She also helped edit a monthly newsletter for women writers called Pen Points.

Ellen's Writing Journey

Ellen MacGregor started writing stories to be published in 1946. One of her early stories, which she wrote for a class, later became a book called Tommy and the Telephone.

Meet Miss Pickerell!

Her most famous character, Miss Pickerell, first appeared in a short story called "Swept her into Space" in Liberty magazine in 1950. Ellen then made this story into a full book. It was published in 1951 as Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars. This was a science fiction novel for children.

Ellen MacGregor wanted to write exciting fantasy stories that also included correct scientific facts. She wanted these stories to be fun for kids to read. Critics really liked Miss Pickerell. One critic, Virginia Kirkus, said it was "A lively novelty. Fact and fancy in a new venture for this age group." Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars was even chosen as the very first book for the new Weekly Reader Children's Book Club. Ellen wrote three more Miss Pickerell adventures before she passed away.

Besides her books, many of Ellen MacGregor's stories were printed in magazines like Story World, The Instructor, and Christian Home.

Books by Ellen MacGregor

Here are the books Ellen MacGregor wrote:

• Tommy and the Telephone, with pictures by Zabeth (published by Whitman, 1947)
• Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars, with pictures by Paul Galdone (published by McGraw-Hill, 1951)
• Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter, with pictures by Galdone (published by McGraw Hill, 1953)
• Miss Pickerell Goes Undersea, with pictures by Galdone (published by McGraw Hill, 1953)

After Ellen MacGregor's death, McGraw-Hill published four more of her stories:

• Miss Pickerell Goes to the Arctic, with pictures by Galdone (published by McGraw-Hill, 1954)
• Theodore Turtle, with pictures by Galdone (published by McGraw-Hill, 1955)
• Mr. Ferguson of the Fire Department, with pictures by Galdone (published by McGraw-Hill, 1956)
• Mr. Pringle and Mr. Buttonhouse, with pictures by Galdone (published by McGraw-Hill, 1957)

The Miss Pickerell Series Continues

After Ellen MacGregor passed away, the publishers wanted to continue the popular Miss Pickerell series. They looked for someone to write more books for a long time. In 1964, they chose Dora Pantell. Dora Pantell was a social worker and a writer. She wrote many textbooks and manuals, especially about teaching English.

Dora Pantell continued the Miss Pickerell series. She wrote 11 more books that were published as by "Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell." These later books explored new topics like computers and satellites. This showed that Dora Pantell was continuing the series "in the spirit" of Ellen MacGregor.

These 11 books were all published by McGraw-Hill and had pictures by Charles Geer:

• Miss Pickerell on the Moon (1965)
• Miss Pickerell Goes on a Dig (1966)
• Miss Pickerell Harvests the Sea (1968)
• Miss Pickerell and the Weather Satellite (1971)
• Miss Pickerell Meets Mr. H.U.M. (1971)
• Miss Pickerell Takes the Bull by the Horns (1976)
• Miss Pickerell to the Earthquake Rescue (1977)
• Miss Pickerell and the Supertanker (1978)
• Miss Pickerell Tackles the Energy Crisis (1980)
• Miss Pickerell on the Trail (1982)
• Miss Pickerell and the Blue Whales (1983)

Dora Pantell also wrote two more Miss Pickerell stories by herself. These were published by Franklin Watts. They stated that the series was "originated by Ellen MacGregor."

• Miss Pickerell and the War of the Computers (1986)
• Miss Pickerell and the Lost World (1986)

All About Miss Pickerell

Ellen MacGregor is best known for her Miss Pickerell science fiction series. Only four of these books were published during her lifetime. However, she left enough notes for Dora Pantell to continue writing the books. The last Miss Pickerell book, Miss Pickerell and the Lost World, came out in 1986.

Who is Miss Pickerell?

Miss Lavinia Pickerell is a very unique hero. She is a bit old-fashioned, proper, and always wears a strange hat. She also loves her pet cow very much! In her first adventure, she accidentally ends up on a rocket to Mars. Even though she finds herself in unusual situations, Miss Pickerell is always practical and calm. She uses her common sense to solve every problem. Many people think she is like everyone's favorite maiden aunt. She might even have been based on Ellen MacGregor herself!

Science in the Miss Pickerell Books

Ellen MacGregor made sure to include real scientific facts in her Miss Pickerell books. She wrote about things like:

• How things float in space (weightlessness)
• Atomic energy and how scientists can tell the age of old objects (carbon-14 dating)
• Submarines powered by nuclear energy
• The "bends," which is a problem divers can get if they come up too fast from deep water

Ellen MacGregor was very good at adding scientific information without making the stories boring. She knew just how much science to include for kids aged 8-12. This way, children could learn new things almost without realizing it!