Bette Greene Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection includes production material for five titles published between 1973-1983, and includes drafts, proofs, notes, and other related material.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1973-1983
Creator
- Greene, Bette, 1934- (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Bette Greene, nee Evansky, was born June 28, 1834, in West Memphis, Tennessee. She grew up in a small Arkansas town, in one of the few Jewish families in the area. She later drew on the experiences of small town Southern life and her feelings of being an outsider because of her Jewish heritage in several of her books. She attended the universities of Alabama, Memphis State, and Columbia during the 1950s, and later worked as a reporter and information officer. In 1973 she published her first young adult novel, Summer of My German Soldier. Set in Arkansas during World War II, It tells the story of a young Jewish girl who hides a German POW, and the consequences of this act of family and social defiance. She has also written several books for younger readers, including Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe, which won a Newbery Honor in 1975. Greene died on October 2, 2020.
Biographical Sources: Something About the Author, vols. 8, 102; Something About the Author Autobiography Series, vol. 16; Twentieth Century Children's Writers, 3rd ed. pp. 402-403; Children's Literature Review, vol. 2.
Extent
2.9 Cubic Feet (3 boxes [2 record cartons and 1 hollinger box])
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Bette Greene's papers focus on her work as an author of children's and young adult fiction, and contain production materials for five published titles.
Arrangement
Collection guide arranged alphabetically by published title, with some miscellaneous correspondence at the end.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Bette Greene in honor of Dr. Norine Odland. One item in the collection, a pencil sketch by Greene, was donated by Greene's cousin, Harold Steinberg.
Source
- Steinberg, Harold (Donor, Person)
translation missing: en.enumerations.subject_term_type.Topical
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- African Americans -- Juvenile fiction
- Authors, American -- 20th century
- Children's stories, American
- Conduct of Life -- Juvenile fiction
- Country life -- Juvenile fiction
- Friendship -- Juvenile fiction
- Jews -- United States -- Juvenile fiction
- Love -- Juvenile fiction
- Parent and child -- Juvenile fiction
- Prejudices -- Juvenile fiction
- Prisoners of war -- Juvenile fiction
- Romance fiction
- Romanies -- Juvenile fiction
- Young adult fiction, American
- Title
- Bette Greene Papers, circa 1973-1983
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jim Eyer
- Date
- 2004
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- April 2019: Collection reprocessed and collection guide updated by Caitlin Marineau
- 2021: Pencil sketch donated by Harold Steinberg added to the collection.
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Children's Literature Research Collections Collecting Area
