Restrictions
Noncirculating; available for research.
Copyright
The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U. S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study,
scholarship, or research." 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, other than that noted above.
Biographical Sketch
Sheila Gordon was born on January 22, 1927 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She
received her bachelor's degree in 1946 from the University of Witwatersrand and later
moved to New York. Many of her books focus on the issues of South Africa, including
Unfinished Business (1975), The Middle of Somewhere (1990), and
Waiting for the Rain (1987). Waiting for the Rain and The Middle
of Somewhere were both awarded the Jane Addam's Children's Book Award by
the Jane Addams Peace Association and the Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom. She has also written an autobiography entitled A Modest Harmony:
Seven Summers in a Scottish Glen (1982) in which she describes "simple living"
during her family's vacations in Scotland. She has also been a contributor to the
New York Times, The Atlantic Review and Antaeus Quarterly.
Source:
Scope and Content
The collection contains typescripts and galleys for two titles. The materials are arranged
alphabetically by title. Within each title the materials are arranged in the probable order
in which they were created.
Monster in the Mailbox is about a little boy who thinks he will get a monster when he sends his money to a mail order company selling "monsters." The story was inspired by Gordon's own son who became discouraged when a real monster did not arrive in the mail as he had expected. There is a typescript, a galley, and photocopied sketches for this title.
Waiting for the Rain (1987) chronicles nine years of the lives of two South African boys, one black and one white. Unfortunately, their friendship ends in a violent confrontation because one is a student and one is a soldier. There is a typescript, a galley, and an invitation to the Jane Addam's Children's Book Award for this title.
A. Books
Box/Folder A. Books A Monster in the Mailbox by Sheila Gordon, illustrated by Tony DeLuna (New York: Dutton, 1978). 1/1 Typescript, edited with typesetter's marks, pp. 1-55. 1/2 Galley, "author's set," 24 April 1978, 21 pp. 1/3 Sketches, photocopied, 10 pp. Waiting for the Rain: A Novel of South Africa by Sheila Gordon (New York: Orchard Books, 1987). 1/4-1/7 Typescript, edited with typesetter's marks, 1/4 Chapters 1-5, pp. 1-49. 1/5 Chapters 6-9, pp. 50-99. 1/6 Chapters 9-14, pp. 100-158. 1/7 Chapters 15-16, pp. 159-205. 1/8 Galley, "master set," 106 pp. 1/9 Invitation to Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 1 item.
Biographical Sketch | Scope & Content
| Series &
Subseries | Box Inventory
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The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi
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Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
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