Betsy Byars (1928–2020)
Author of The Summer of the Swans
About the Author
Betsy Cromer Byars was born in1928. She graduated from Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. While she was in graduate school, she began writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post and Look. Byars writes novels for young people. She is an expert at tapping in to the pain of adolescence, show more using bits of her own experience to flavor her characters. She is author of more than 60 books and has won numerous awards. Her book about a 14-year-old girl and her mentally retarded brother, The Summer of the Swans (1970), won the Newberry Award as the most distinguished contribution to children's literature that year. Other books include The 18th Emergency (1973), The TV Kid (1976), and After the Goat Man (1995). Betsy Byars died on February 26,2020 at the age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Betsy Byars
Associated Works
A Newbery Zoo: A dozen animal stories by Newbery Award-winning authors (1995) — Contributor — 34 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Byars, Betsy Cromer
- Birthdate
- 1928-11-07
- Date of death
- 2020-02-26
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
- Place of death
- Seneca, South Carolina, USA
- Places of residence
- Seneca, South Carolina, USA
Morgantown, West Virginia, USA - Education
- Furman University
Queens College (BA|English, 1950) - Relationships
- Myers, Laurie (daughter)
Duffey, Betsy (daughter) - Awards and honors
- Regina Medel (lifetime achievement ∙ 1987)
Newbery Medal 1971 - Short biography
- Married Ed Byars June 24, 1950, had three daughters and a son.
Members
Discussions
YA girl watches over developmentally challenged brother in Name that Book (November 2011)
Reviews
My daughter had to read this book for school, so I figured I might as well read it too. That way if she needs help with her homework, I know what she's talking about.
This is a great book for a teenage girl to read. The main character, Sara, feels awkward in her body. She doesn't feel beautiful. She hates a lot of her physical qualities and compares herself to her sister and other people. She talks about how her feelings are so hard to live with. She isn't sure what's wrong, but she's angry and she wants to just scream. It's a typical teenage, pre-pubescent girl. I'm glad my daughter has to read this because it will help her realize that she is not the only one who feels like this. I think it will make girls getting ready to hit puberty realize they are not alone.… (more)
This is a great book for a teenage girl to read. The main character, Sara, feels awkward in her body. She doesn't feel beautiful. She hates a lot of her physical qualities and compares herself to her sister and other people. She talks about how her feelings are so hard to live with. She isn't sure what's wrong, but she's angry and she wants to just scream. It's a typical teenage, pre-pubescent girl. I'm glad my daughter has to read this because it will help her realize that she is not the only one who feels like this. I think it will make girls getting ready to hit puberty realize they are not alone.… (more)
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 89
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 22,288
- Popularity
- #955
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 275
- ISBNs
- 1,009
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 4
Awards/Honors: None