Children's Literature Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Patricia Lauber Papers, 1957-1998. Finding Aid.

Summary Information

Collection Number: CLRC-157

Collection Size: Ca. 2.1 linear ft. (Manuscript materials)

Abstract/Notes: Patricia Lauber's papers focus on her work as an author of children's non-fiction books. The collection contains production material for forty-two titles published between 1959 and 1998 with some production material dating back to 1957. Production materials include typescripts, galley proofs, notes, layout notes, front matter, dummies, photocopies of illustrations, and research material. The collection also contains correspondence to and from Patricia Lauber concerning the publication of her books.

Patricia Lauber gave this collection to the University of Minnesota in 1987 with copyright retained by the author. She gave additional materials to the University from 1989-1998.

Collection is non-circulating, in-house use only.

This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 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, May 1999.

This collection was processed with financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical/Historical Notes

Patricia Lauber was born February 5, 1924 in New York, New York. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1945 and worked for many years as a writer and editor for various magazines. In 1954, Patricia Lauber published her first book for children, Magic Up Your Sleeve. Throughout her long and prolific career, Patricia Lauber has written dozens of non-fiction books on a variety of topics for children. She has also written works of fiction beginning with Clarence, The TV Dog in 1955. Patricia Lauber has received numerous nominations and awards for her non-fiction including a Newbery Honor Book citation for Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens (1986) in 1987. Critics have praised her for making "science an entertaining as well as enriching reading experience for children." Critics have noted that she "informs reader[s] with clear explanations and up-to-date information and illustrations carefully selected by the author for their interest and accuracy." Her texts have been called both "vivid" and "remarkable." Critics have also lauded her fiction. Patricia Lauber's "Clarence" stories have been praised as "believable and funny."

Scope and Content Notes

The collection contains production material for forty-two titles published between 1959 and 1998 with some production material dating back to 1957. Production materials include corrected typescripts, corrected galley proofs, notes, layout notes, front matter, dummies, proofs, photocopies of illustrations, and research material. The collection also contains correspondence to and from Patricia Lauber concerning the publication of her books. The materials are arranged by title with folder and box level control.

See attached inventory for box and folder contents.

Collection Inventory

All About the Ice Age, 1959
-Typescript corrected, 107p.(M.F. 2772, 2 folders)

All About the Planet Earth, 1962
-Typescript corrected, 87p. (M.F. 2770, 1 folder)

All About the Planets, illustrated by Arthur Renshaw, 1960
-1st Edition
---Typescript, corrected, 98p. (M.F. 2770)
---Front matter, 2p. (M.F. 2770)
---first edition book (M.F. 2770)
-Revised edition
---Typescript, corrected, 93p. (M.F. 2770)
---Correspondence, 7p. (M.F. 2770)
---Notes, 3p. (M.F. 2770)

Alligators: A Success Story, 1993
-Typescript corrected, 28p. (M.F. 2770, folder 1)
-Front matter, 7p. (M.F. 2770, folder 1)

Bats: Wings in the Night, 1968
-Typescript, corrected, 34 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Notes, 8 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Battle Against the Sea, 1956
-Typescript, corrected, 108 p. (M.F. 2770, 3 folders)

Be a Friend to Trees, 1994
-Typescript, corrected, 9 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Frontmatter, 14 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Page proofs, 12 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)

Big Dreams and Small Rockets: A Story History of Space Travel, 1965
-Typescript, corrected, 38 p. with front matter, 7 p. (M.F. 2614, folders 1-2)
-Layout notes, 19 p. (M.F. 2614, folders 1-2)
-Research material, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected, 12 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 2)

Clarence and the Burglar, 1973
-Typescript, corrected, 13 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Galley proofs, 3 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)

Clarence the Cat, 1977
-Typescript, corrected, 13 p. (M.F. 2769, folder 1)
-Front matter, 6 p. (M.F. 2769, folder 1)
-Galley proofs, 3 p. (M.F. 2769, folder 1)

The Congo, River into Central Africa, 1964
-Typescript, corrected, 43 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Notes, 8 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Layout notes, 3 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Cowboys and Cattle Ranching: Yesterday and Today, 1973
-Typescript, corrected, 102 p. with front matter, 8 p. (M.F. 2614, folders 1-2)

Curious Critters, 1969
-Typescript, 11 p. with front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 22 p. with front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Dinosaurs Walked Here, and Other Stories Fossils Tell, 1987
-Typescript, corrected, 77 p. (M.F. 1317, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected, 27 p. (M.F. 1317, folder 2)

Earthworms, Underground Farmers, 1976
-Typescript, corrected, 18 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 30 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 2)
-Front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 2)

Everglades Country: A Question of Life or Death, 1973
-Typescript, corrected, 74 p. (M.F. 2614, folders 1-2)

Famous Mysteries of the Sea, 1962
-Typescript, corrected, 98 p. with front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2614, folders 1-2)

Flood: Wrestling with the Mississippi, 1996
-Typescript, 71 p. (M.F. 2242)
-Typescript, corrected, 72 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 9 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Page proof photocopy with illustrations, 15 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Notes, 14 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 2)
-Front matter, 4 p. (M.F. 2242, folders 2-3)

The Friendly Dolphins, 1963
-Typescript, corrected, 34 p. with front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 1 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Notes, 1 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

The Friendly Dolphins, 1967
-Typescript, corrected, 34 p. (M.F. 2771, 1 folder)
-Front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2771, 1 folder)

From Flower to Flower: Animals and Pollination, 1986
-Typescript, corrected with layout notes, 34 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Fur, Feathers and Flippers: How Animals Live Where They Do, 1994
-Page proofs, 27 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)

Get Ready for Robots!, 1987
-Typescript, corrected, part photocopy, with layout notes, 26 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 3 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected, 6 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Getting to Know Switzerland, 1960
-Typescript, corrected, 32 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 5 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)

Great Whales, 1975
-Typescript, corrected, 26 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 64 p. (M.F. 2771)
-Front matter, 5 p. (M.F. 2771)

Highway to Adventure, 1956
-Typescript, corrected, 57 p. (M.F. 2770, 1 folder)

Home at Last! A Young Cat's Tale, 1980
-Typescript, corrected, 28 p. (M.F. 2770, folder 1)
-Front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 2770, folder 1)
-Galley proofs, 16 p. (M.F. 2770, folder 1)

How Dinosaurs Came to Be, 1996
-Typescript, corrected, 90 p. (M.F. 2242)
-Correspondence, 11 p. (M.F. 2242)
-Photocopy of illustrations, 3 p. (M.F. 2242)

How We Learned the Earth Is Round, 1990
-Front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 18 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 1)
-Galley proof, corrected, 4 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 4 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 34 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 2)
-Correspondence, 16 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 2)
-Dummy, 18 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 3)
-Dummy, 31 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 4)
-Proof sheets, 4 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 4)
-Correspondence, 50 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 5)
-Typescript, corrected, 5 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 6)
-Front matter, 6 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 6)
-Galley proof, corrected, 12 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 6)

Hurricanes: Earth's Mightiest Storms, 1996
-Typescript, corrected, 48 p. (M.F. 2769, 1 folder)

Journey to the Planets, 1982
-Typescript, corrected, 68 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Front matter, 4 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Layout notes, 1 p. (M.F. 2272)

Junior Science Book of Icebergs and Glaciers, 1961
-Typescript, corrected, 25 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Notes, 3 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Junior Science Book of Penguins, 1963
-Typescript, corrected, 26 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 6 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Junior Science Book of Volcanoes, 1965
-Typescript, corrected, 25 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Life On a Giant Cactus, 1974
-Typescript, corrected, 19 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Living With Dinosaurs, 1991
-Typescript, corrected, 52 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Galley proofs, 18 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Page proofs, 63 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Correspondence, 3 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Layout notes, 18 p. (M.F. 2272)
-Photocopy of illustrations, 6 p. (M.F. 2272)

Look-it-up Book of Mammals, 1967
-Typescript, corrected, 121 p. (M.F. 2272, 2 folders)

Look-it-up Book of Stars and Planets, 1967
-Typescript, corrected, 117 p. (M.F. 2272, 2 folders)

Look-it-up Book of the Fifty States, 1967
-Typescript, corrected, 193 p. (M.F. 2272, 2 folders)

Lost Star: the Story of Amelia Earhart, 1988
-Typescript, corrected, 86 p. (M.F. 2769, 1 folder)

The Mississippi Giant at Work, 1961
-Typescript, corrected, 39 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

Mystery Monsters of Loch Ness, 1978
-Typescript, corrected, 21 p. with front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)
-Layout notes, 6 p. (M.F. 2614, folder 1)

The News About Dinosaurs, 1989
-Typescript, corrected, 24 p., with 2 p. front matter (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected, 50 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected, 49 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected, 50 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected, 43 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Page proof, 1 p. (M.F. 1317)

An Octopus Is Amazing, 1990
-Typescript, 8 p. (M.F. 1317, folder 1)
-1 photo of illustration with 1 separation (M.F. 1317, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 24 p. (M.F. 1317, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 5 p. (M.F. 2771)
-Front matter, 5 p. (M.F. 2771)
-Galley proof, corrected, 6 p. (M.F. 2771)
-Galley proof, corrected, 4 p. (M.F. 1317, folder 1)
-Dummy, 66 p. (M.F. 1317, folders 2-3)
-Correspondence, 24 p. (M.F. 1317, folders 2-3)
-Photocopy of illustrations, 1 p. (M.F. 1317, folder 3)

Of Man and Mice: How House Mice Became Laboratory Mice, 1971
-Typescript, corrected, 76 p. with front matter, 6 p. (M.F. 2615, folders 1-2)
-Layout notes, 6 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Research material, 3 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Painters of the Caves, 1998
-Typescript, corrected, 26 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Penguins on Parade, 1958
-Typescript, corrected, 26 p. with front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

The Quest of Galileo, 1959
-Typescript, corrected, 35 p. with front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Layout notes, 5 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

The Quest of Louis Pasteur, 1960
-Typescript, corrected, 39 p. with front matter, 5 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Layout notes, 9 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Sea Otters and Seaweed, 1976
-Typescript, corrected, 18 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Seeds Pop, Stick, Glide, 1981
-Typescript, corrected, 35 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Frontmatter, 6 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)

Seeing Earth From Space, 1990
-Typescript, corrected, 203 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 1-5)
-Front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 6)
-Galley proof, corrected, 104 p. (M.F. 1595, folders 6-8)
-Correspondence, 15 p. (M.F. 1595, folder 9)

Snakes Are Hunters, 1988
-Typescript, 10 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected, 6 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected photocopy, 6 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Galley proofs, 40 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Correspondence, 8 p. (M.F. 1317)

St. Lawrence Seaway, 1959
-Typescript, corrected, 47 p. (M.F. 2770, 1 folder)

The Story of Dogs, 1966
-Typescript, corrected, 25 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Notes, 1 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

The Story of Numbers, 1961
-Typescript, corrected, 48 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Summer of Fire: Yellowstone 1988, 1991
-Typescript, corrected, 33 p. (M.F. 2770)
-Front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2770)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2770)

The Surprising Kangaroos and Other Pouched Mammals, 1965
-Typescript, corrected, 31 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Notes, 1 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Tales Mummies Tell, 1988
-Typescript, corrected, 73 p. (M.F. 2772)
-Front matter, 4 p. (M.F. 2772)

Tapping Earth's Heat, 1978
-Typescript, corrected, 23 p. (M.F. 2772, 1 folder)

The Tiger Has a Toothache; illustrated by Mary Morgan, 1999
-Typescript, corrected, 24 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 1)
-Front matter, 5 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 1)
-Proof for jacket, 1 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 1)
-Dummy, 30 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 2 p. (M.F. 2771, folder 1)

This Restless Earth, 1970
-Typescript, corrected, 88 p. (M.F. 2769)
-Notes, 2 p. (M.F. 2769)

Too Much Garbage, 1974
-Typescript, corrected, 19 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 19 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Galley proof, 1 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Layout notes, 6 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

The True-or-False Book of Cats, 1998
-Typescript, corrected, 16 p. with front matter, 3 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 16 p. with front matter, 1 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p.

Valiant Scots, 1957
-Typescript, corrected, 57 p. (M.F. 2770, 1 folder)

Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens, 1986
-Front matter, 5 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, corrected, 143 p. (M.F. 1317)

Volcanoes and Earthquakes, 1985
-Typescript, corrected, 43 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 6 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 3 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Voyagers from Space: Meteors and Meteorites, 1989
-Typescript, 39 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Typescript, 88 p. (M.F. 1317)
-Page proof, 61 p. (M.F. 1317)

What Big Teeth You Have!, 1986
-Typescript, corrected, 35 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 3 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)
-Layout notes, 5 p. (M.F. 2242, folder 1)

What Do You See?, 1994
-Typescript, 33 p. (M.F. 2769, 1 folder)

What's Hatching Out of That Egg?, 1979
-Typescript, corrected photocopy, 40 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Who Discovered America?, 1970
-Typescript, corrected, 174 p. (M.F. 2769)
-Page proofs, 4 p. (M.F. 2769)
-Layout notes, 13 p. (M.F. 2769)

Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs, 1995
-Typescript, corrected, 6 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)
-Correspondence, 1 p. (M.F. 2772, folder 1)

Who Needs Alligators?, 1974
-Typescript, corrected, 3 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected, 20 p. with front matter, 2p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

Your Body and How It Works, 1962
-Typescript, corrected, 35 p. with front matter, 2 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)
-Notes, 6 p. (M.F. 2615, folder 1)

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