To date, the late Virginia Hamilton is the most honored children's book writer in the United States. Hamilton wrote stirring works based upon the tales she'd from her grandfather, an escaped slave who fled and settled in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
The Ohio Connection
Although Hamilton was born in Virginia, she was raised in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Eventually she moved away, but returned with a husband. Virginia Hamilton died in 2002, however her works live on for thousands of children. She was the recipient of the most coveted of all childrens' book awards including the Hans Christian Anderson Medal, the multi-grand prize and honor book winner of the Newbery Award, and recipient of numerous other awards for titles like The House of Dies Drear, The Planet of Junior Brown, Zeely and M.C. Higgins, the Great.