Quick Facts
Biography
Katherine Binney Shippen (April 1, 1892 –February 20, 1980) was an American history teacher, museum curator, and children's writer.
Early life and education
Shippen was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on April 1, 1892, to Francis and Ellen Shippen. She earned a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in 1914 and an M.A. from Columbia University in 1929.
Career
While studying for her master's degree, Shippen taught history at the Beard School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Orange, New Jersey (1917–26) and then at The Brearley School in Manhattan borough (1926–35). She then served as the headmistress at Miss Fine's School (now Princeton Day School) in Princeton, New Jersey, for the next nine years. In 1945, the Brooklyn Children's Museum named Shippen curator of the social studies department. In the same year, she published her first book, New Found World. Shippen published 21 books throughout her career and twice won the Newbery Honor Award. Several of her books have been translated into Swedish, German, Polish, Spanish, and Greek editions. She died on February 20, 1980 in Suffern, NY.
Books
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | New Found World | 1946 Newbery Honor recipient Junior Literary Guild selection |
| 1947 | The Great Heritage | Junior Literary Guild selection |
| 1949 | The Bright Design | Junior Literary Guild selection |
| Moses | ||
| 1950 | Passage to America: the story of the great migrations | |
| Lightfoot: the story of an Indian boy | ||
| 1951 | Leif Eriksson, first voyager to America | |
| A Bridle for Pegasus | ||
| 1953 | Big Mose | |
| 1954 | The pool of knowledge: how the United Nations share their skills | |
| I Know a City: the story of New York's growth | ||
| 1955 | Miracle in motion: the story of America's industry | |
| Men, Microscopes, and Living Things | - 1955 Newbery Honor recipient - Later published under the title So Many Marvels in 1968 | |
| Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone | Reprinted as Alexander Graham Bell Invents the Telephone, 1982 | |
| 1957 | Men of Medicine | |
| 1958 | Andrew Carnegie and the Age of Steel | |
| This Union Cause: The Growth of Organized Labor in America | ||
| 1959 | Milton S. Hershey | |
| 1963 | Portals to the Past: The Story of Archaeology | |
| Heritage of Music | ||
| 1964 | Men of Archaeology |