Taylor, Mildred D. (1943-…), is a leading American author of children’s books. Taylor’s fiction is based on stories from several generations of her own family history. Her books explore themes of family unity, land ownership, and bigotry.
Taylor has written a series of novels about the Logans, a Black family living in rural Mississippi. Many of the stories are set in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Her Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976) won the 1977 Newbery Medal. The other Logan novels are Song of the Trees (1975), Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981), The Friendship and The Gold Cadillac (both 1987), Mississippi Bridge (1990), The Road to Memphis (1990), The Well: David’s Story (1995), and The Land (2001). Taylor concluded the Logan family saga with All the Days Past, All the Days to Come (2020).
Mildred Delois Taylor was born Sept. 13, 1943, in Jackson, Mississippi. In 2020, Taylor received the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Coretta Scott King Awards honor African American writers and illustrators of books for children. In 2021, Taylor received the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. This award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made a sigificant and lasting contribution to literature for children.
