Fitzhugh’s characters challenged prevailing assumptions about sex roles in ways that are both provocative and entertaining and accessible for both children and adults. This is particularly true for young lesbian and gay readers, who find reassurance in Fitzhugh’s sensitive depiction of butch girls, artsy boys, and intense same-sex friendships. Her young, quirky outsider characters offer support for children who feel awkward or insecure. Later her book, Nobody’s Family is Going to Change, was adapted into a Tony-award winning play, “The Tap Dance Kid.” Yet it is for her children’s books that she is best remembered. Prior to her work as a children’s author, she was a successful visual artist and illustrator. She was uncomfortable with both racist and sexist attitudes prevalent in the south during that time so made a conscious effort to leave her southern accent behind. She attended Hutchison, Southwestern, Florida Southern College, Bard College and NYU. She began both writing and drawing when she was young and continued to do both her entire life. Louise Fitzhugh was born in 1928 to a prominent Memphis family. Her characters provide positive role models for any child, girl or boy, who dares to be “different.” Her books, first published in the early 1960s, depict a range of characters - from spunky girls who aspire to be writers and scientists to sensitive boys who want to be dancers rather than lawyers. For a woman whose achievements still enrich our lives:īest known to many as the author and illustrator of the well-loved children’s classic, Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh leaves a lasting legacy through her groundbreaking depictions of children that challenged sex role stereotypes long before such issues had become part of the public consciousness.

Louise fitzhugh books