ciroccoj: (contemplative)
[personal profile] ciroccoj
Wow. One of my favourite childhood authors ever.


The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA- Lloyd Alexander, a prolific writer of children's books including the five-book series "The Chronicles of Prydain," died Thursday. He was 83.

Alexander died at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Drexel Hill, said Jennifer Abbots, spokeswoman for his publishing company, Henry Holt Books For Young Readers. He had cancer, she said.

The final book in his Prydain series, "The High King," won the Newbery Medal from the American Library Association in 1969, being recognized as the best children's book of the year. Another book in the series, "The Black Cauldron," was named a runner-up for the medal in 1966, a status now known as a Newbery Honor Book.

His final novel, "The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio," is scheduled to be published by Holt in August. The publisher described it as an adventure in the tradition of Middle Eastern folk tales.

Alexander joined the Army at the start of World War II and got much of his training in Wales. His experiences in the area inspired many of his books.

He met Janine Denni, whom he married in 1946, while attending the University of Paris. She died two weeks before he did, Holt said in a statement.

Link to the story

Link to Wikipedia entry

Not that there's any really good way to die, but I must say dying at age 83, after a very successful career, and two weeks after the death of your spouse of 61 years, seems rather easier than many other ways you can go.



RIP, Mr. Alexander. And thank you.

Date: 2007-05-18 10:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] leaper182.livejournal.com
*GASP!*

Awwww. :(

I had meant to write him once upon a time, because he and I shared the same birthday. *sad*

RIP, sir. The Prydain Chronicles were the first books that I really liked.

Date: 2007-05-18 10:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] owens-mom.livejournal.com
Oh wow. I just bought and re-read The High King. I read that series over and over, it really plunked me into the world of fantasy books.

Okay, this is a wee bit embarrassing, but at the age I was reading these, I was also in love with Abba, and their song Eagle always reminded me of The High King, and the bird that he rescued coming to help him in the end...

They came flying from far away, now I'm under their spell
I love hearing the stories that they tell
They've seen places beyond my land and they've found new horizons
They speak strangely but I understand
And I dream I'm an eagle
And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky
I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please


R.I.P. :(

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