Armstrong Sperry

"All of these qualities are readily apparent in Call It Courage, the book which won for Sperry the 1941 Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature in the year of its publication. It was appreciation of this book and curiosity about its background that led the writer of this paper to select Armstrong Sperry and his writing as her subject. The writer should, perhaps, have begun with an investigation of biographical sources. If she had done so, she would have discovered gaps in information and would have gotten in contact with Sperry himself sooner. Also a knowledge of the experiences connected with each book must surely have added to her enjoyment in reading it. However, that was not the procedure used. Having established through standard bibliographies what books Sperry had written, the writer read them in haphazard order. After consulting the available biographical material, she wrote Armstrong Sperry in care of his most recent publisher, Winston in Philadelphia. In a most cordial reply, which arrived only five days later, Sperry answered her questions about his life, the source of his background materials for recent books, and his work in progress. He added several interesting paragraphs giving his philosophy of writing. Mr. Sperry's letter added greatly to the information gathered from other sources. The first chapter of this paper presents the salient facts of Sperry's life"--Introduction.