Children's Literature Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Children's Literature
Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Summary Information
Collection Number: CLRC-114
Collection Size: Ca. 3.3 linear ft. (Manuscripts) Ca. 0.1 cubic ft. (Scrapbook)
Abstract/Notes: Rebecca Caudill's papers focus on her work as an author of children's and young adult books. The collection contains production material for seven titles published between 1947 and 1974. It consists mainly of manuscript material with one item shelved with illustrative material, a scrapbook pertaining to the title Come Along. There is also manuscript material for a title "Passage to Caintuck" not verified as published.
Rebecca Caudill gave this collection to the University of Minnesota in 1965 with additional material added during the 1970s until 1979.
Collection is non-circulating, in-house use only.
This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Titles 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.
Prepared by Christina Cowan, November 1998.
This collection was processed with financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical/Historical Notes
Rebecca Caudill was born February 2, 1899 in Harlan County, Kentucky. She graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia with an AB in 1922 and received her MA from Vanderbilt University in 1922. Rebecca Caudill married James S. Ayars, the editor and writer, in 1931 and had two children. She worked as a teacher and editor and began writing children's and young adult books in 1943. Setting was very important in her books and critics cited her ability to accurately depict 18th and 19th century Appalachian people and places in her historical fiction. Tree of Freedom (1949), a work of historical fiction, was a Newbery Honor Book for 1950. Like many of her works the story is moralistic but not didactic and uses authentic dialect to define time, place, and characters. The story has a strong female protagonist and believable characters that face conflicts that drive the plot. Rebecca Caudill also wrote books for younger readers including The Best-Loved Doll (1962) a story that tells of a little girl's love for one of her dolls. Rebecca Caudill died October 22, 1985 in Urbana, Illinois.
Scope and Content Notes
The collection contains production material for seven titles published between 1947 and 1974. The collection consists mostly of manuscript materials and includes holographs, corrected typescripts, carbon typescripts, corrected photocopy typescripts, corrected galley proofs, page proofs, a jacket proof, corrected page proofs, front matter, notes, clippings, reviews, photographs, two scrapbooks, and correspondence to and from Rebecca Caudill. There is also manuscript material for a title "Passage to Caintuck' not verified as published. The materials are arranged by title with folder and box level control.
See attached inventory for box and folder contents.
Collection Inventory
The Best-Loved Doll, 1962
-Holograph,
18 p.
(M.F. 192, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
174 p.
(M.F. 192, folders 1-4)
-Typescript, carbon,
83 p.
(M.F. 192, folders 5-6)
-Correspondence,
1 p.
(M.F. 192, folder 6)
-1 scrapbook [containing clippings, reviews, and correspondence from adults and children],
57 p.
(M.F. 192, folder 7)
Come Along!, 1969
-Typescript, corrected,
32 p.
(M.F. 192, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected photocopy,
9 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 2)
-Typescript, carbon,
8 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 2)
-Miscellaneous front matter,
5 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 2)
-Galley proof, corrected,
12 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 3)
-Page proof, corrected,
16 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 3)
-Page proof,
8 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 3)
-Page proof,
9 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 3)
-Jacket proof,
1 p.
(M.F. 193, folder 3)
-1 scrapbook [containing newspaper clippings, articles, pictures, and correspondence from children and adults],
30 p.
(M.C. 196)
The Far-Off Land, 1964
-Correspondence,
2 p.
(M.F. 194, folder 1)
-Notes,
334 p.
(M.F. 194, folders 1-7)
Happy Little Family, 1947
-Galley proof, corrected,
29 p.
(M.F. 194, folder 1)
Passage to Caintuck [not dated and not verified as published]
-Holograph and corrected typescript,
221 p.
(M.F. 193a, folders 1-5)
-Typescript with front matter,
191 p.
(M.F. 193a, folders 6-9)
-Typescript, corrected,
179 p.
(M.F. 193a, folders 10-13)
Schoolhouse in the Woods, 1949
-Galley proof, corrected,
27 p.
(M.F. 194, folder 1)
Somebody Go and Bang a Drum, 1974
-Holograph,
99 p.
(M.F. 194, folders 1-2)
-Holograph,
212 p.
(M.F. 194, folders 3-6)
-Holograph,
178 p.
(M.F. 194, folders 7-10)
-Holograph,
58 p.
(M.F. 194, folder 11)
-Holograph,
90 p.
(M.F. 195, folders 12-13)
-Typescript, corrected,
29 p.
(M.F. 195, folder 14)
-Typescript, corrected,
27 p.
(M.F. 195, folder 15)
-Typescript, corrected,
24 p.
(M.F. 195, folder 15)
-Typescript, corrected,
92 p.
(M.F. 195, folders 16-17)
-Typescript, corrected,
165 p.
(M.F. 195, folders 18-20)
-Typescript, corrected,
95 p.
(M.F. 195, folders 21-22)
-Correspondence, 1 p. and typescript, corrected partial carbon and photocopy, 111 p. (M.F. 195, folders 23-24)
-Typescript, corrected photocopy,
100 p.
(M.F. 195, folders 25-26)
-Galley proof, corrected,
69 p.
(M.F. 196, folder 27)
-Correspondence,
192 p.
(M.F. 196, folders 28-31)
-Correspondence,
82 p.
(M.F. 196, folders 32-33)
-Correspondence,
30 p.
(M.F. 196, folder 34)
-Notes,
58 p.
(M.F. 196, folder 35)
-Clippings,
14 p.
(M.F. 196, folder 36)
-Photographs,
13 p.
(M.F. 196, folder 36)
Tree of Freedom, 1949
-Holograph and corrected typescript,
320 p.
(M.F. 197, folders 1-7)
-Holograph and corrected typescript,
416 p.
(M.F. 197, folders 8-16)
-Typescript,
250 p.
(M.F. 198, folders 17-21)
-Typescript, corrected,
302 p.
(M.F. 198, folders 22-27)
-Typescript, corrected carbon,
209 p.
(M.F. 198, folders 28-32)
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