Blos, << blohs, >> Joan W. (1928-2017), was an American author of children’s literature known for her historical fiction. Blos won the 1980 Newbery Medal for her first historical novel, A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-32 (1979). The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the outstanding children’s book written by an American. Blos’s well-researched novel tells about 13-year-old Catherine Hall growing up in New Hampshire during the early 1800’s. The book takes the form of a diary kept by Catherine, in which she records her most personal thoughts in authentic period language.
Blos’s second historical novel was Brothers of the Heart: A Story of the Old Northwest, 1837-1838 (1985). The story is narrated by a 14-year-old boy named Shem, born with a disability, who lives in Michigan during the early 1800’s. The Heroine of the Titanic: A Tale Both True and Otherwise of the Life of Molly Brown (1991) is the story of a woman who survives the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic in 1912. Letters from the Corrugated Castle: A Novel of Gold Rush California, 1850-1852 (2007) explores this period in American history through newspaper articles and letters written by a 13-year-old girl. Blos also wrote short stories collected in Brooklyn Doesn’t Rhyme (1994). The stories deal with a family of Polish Jews who immigrate to the United States in the early 1900’s.
Blos began her career as a children’s author writing picture books with Betty Miles, including Just Think! (1971). Her other picture books include Martin’s Hats (1984), Old Henry (1987), Lottie’s Circus (1989), The Grandpa Days (1989), One Very Best Valentine’s Day (1990), The Hungry Little Boy (1995), and Hello, Shoes! (1999).
Joan Winsor was born on Dec. 9, 1928, in New York City. She married Peter Blos, Jr., a psychiatrist, in 1953. She met him while working in the Child Study Center at Yale University. She received a B.A. degree in psychology from Vassar College in 1949 and an M.A. degree from the City College (now City University) of New York in 1956. She died on Oct. 12, 2017.
