Rylant, Cynthia (1954-…), is an American author of children’s and young adult books. She is best known for works about life in the Appalachian Mountains, where she spent much of her childhood. Rylant won the 1993 Newbery Medal for her novel Missing May (1992). The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the best children’s book written by an American.
Missing May takes place in West Virginia. The story tells how 12-year-old Summer and her Uncle Ob deal with their grief after the death of his wife and her aunt, May. Summer’s mother had died when the girl was 6. Critics praised the book for its sensitive handling of difficult subjects, such as death, grief, and despair.
Rylant’s other books with Appalachian settings include the picture book When I Was Young in the Mountains (1982), her first book; Waiting to Waltz, a Childhood (1984), a collection of poetry; the picture books Appalachia: The Voice of Sleeping Birds (1991) and Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story (1997); and the novel A Blue-Eyed Daisy (1985), published in the United Kingdom as Some Year for Ellie (1986). She also wrote two autobiographical books for young readers, But I’ll Be Back Again: An Album (1989) and Best Wishes (1992).
Rylant created the popular “Henry and Mudge” series for young readers. The series describes the adventures of an only child named Henry and his big dog, Mudge. The series began with Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their Adventures (1987). The series grew to about 30 books by the early 2000’s. A later series that features Mudge as a puppy is aimed at the youngest of beginning readers. The first book in the series is Puppy Mudge Takes a Bath (2003). Among the author’s other series is the “Cobble Street Cousins” for young readers, about the adventures of three 9-year-old girls who are cousins. The series began with The Cobble Street Cousins: In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen (1998).
Rylant’s “Mr. Putter and Tabby” series features a likeable elderly man and his tabby cat. The series began with Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea (1994). The “Poppleton” series about a pig made its debut with Poppleton (1997). Rylant wrote two fantasies about small animals living in a park—Gooseberry Park (1995) and Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan (2015).
Rylant’s other works include the picture books The Relatives Came (1985); The Stars Will Still Shine (2005); Alligator Boy and Walt Disney’s Cinderella (both 2007); Snow (2008); All in a Day, Brownie & Pearl Step Out, and Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (all 2009); Little Penguins (2016); and Motor Mouse (2019). Rylant wrote and illustrated Creation (2016), a picture book depicting the King James Bible creation story.
Rylant also wrote the novels A Fine White Dust (1986), Rosetown (2018), and Rosetown Summer (2021). Her short stories are collected in Every Living Thing (1985), Children of Christmas (1987), and A Couple of Kooks: And Other Stories About Love (1990). Her poetry appears in Soda Jerk (1990), Something Permanent (1994), God Went to Beauty School (2003), and Baby Face: A Book of Love for Baby and Puppies and Piggies (both 2008).
Cynthia Smith was born in Hopewell, Virginia, on June 6, 1954. Rylant is her mother’s maiden name. From the ages of 4 until 8, she was raised by her grandparents in rural West Virginia while her mother attended nursing school. Rylant received degrees from two West Virginia universities, a B.A. degree from Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in 1975 and an M.A. from Marshall University in 1976. She earned an M.L.S. from Kent State University in 1982 and worked for a short time as a librarian.
See also Johnson, Angela.
