Scope and Contents
The collection consists primarily of writings, including drafts and manuscripts, and research material, as well as correspondence, clippings, printed material, photographs, slides, phonographic records and other material. The collection documents Miriam Schlein's career as a children's author and her process of researching and writing books on natural history and related topics.
Dates
- 1940 - 2009
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Boxes 41, 42, 43, and 48 (phonograph records): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Box 47 (audiovisual material): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Boxes 41, 42, 43, and 48 (phonograph records): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Box 47 (audiovisual material): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Miriam Schlein Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Elizabeth S. Weiss and John Weiss on the Jockey Hollow Fund, 2007.
November 2010 Acquisition, Gift of Elizabeth S. Weiss and John Weiss, 2010.
October 2017 Acquisition, Gift of Elizabeth S. Weiss, 2017.
November 2010 Acquisition, Gift of Elizabeth S. Weiss and John Weiss, 2010.
October 2017 Acquisition, Gift of Elizabeth S. Weiss, 2017.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into six series: I. Writing Files, 1955-2002. II. Research Material, 1949-2003. III. Correspondence, 1954-2002. IV. Personal Papers, 1976-2004. V. November 2010 Acquisition, 1940-2009. VI. October 2017 Acquisition, 1956-1998.
Acquisitions recieved after the initial gift date were organized by accession. Researchers should note that material within each acquisition may overlap with/or relate to material found in other acquisitions.
Acquisitions recieved after the initial gift date were organized by accession. Researchers should note that material within each acquisition may overlap with/or relate to material found in other acquisitions.
Extent
42.25 Linear Feet (51 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection consists primarily of writings, including drafts and manuscripts, and research material, as well as correspondence, clippings, printed material, photographs, slides, phonographic records and other material. The collection documents Miriam Schlein's career as a children's author and her process of researching and writing books on natural history and related topics.
Miriam Schlein (1926-2004)
Miriam Schlein was born on 6 June 1926 in Brooklyn, NY. Schlein was a prolific author of children’s books which focused on teaching young readers about animals, science, and other topics. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Brooklyn College in 1947 before moving into the fields of publishing and advertising.
While working for the publisher Simon & Schuster in the children’s department, she was inspired to write her own books for children. Beginning with 1951’s A Day at the Playground, she went on to write nearly one hundred books over five decades. Although she wrote a number of fiction stories, such as Oomi, the New Hunter (1955), The Snake in the Carpool (1963), and I Sailed with Columbus (1991), she concentrated on books which explored the natural sciences. Among her award-winning efforts in this genre are Fast Is Not a Ladybug: A Book about Fast and Slow Things (1953), Elephant Herd (1954), What's Wrong with Being a Skunk? (1974), Giraffe, the Silent Giant (1976), The Dangerous Life of the Sea Horse (1986), and Discovering Dinosaur Babies (1991).
Miriam Schlein married Harvey Weiss, an artist who illustrated some of her early works. Before her marriage with Weiss ended in divorce, the couple had two children.
Miriam Schlein died of vasculitis on 23 November 2004 in New York City.
While working for the publisher Simon & Schuster in the children’s department, she was inspired to write her own books for children. Beginning with 1951’s A Day at the Playground, she went on to write nearly one hundred books over five decades. Although she wrote a number of fiction stories, such as Oomi, the New Hunter (1955), The Snake in the Carpool (1963), and I Sailed with Columbus (1991), she concentrated on books which explored the natural sciences. Among her award-winning efforts in this genre are Fast Is Not a Ladybug: A Book about Fast and Slow Things (1953), Elephant Herd (1954), What's Wrong with Being a Skunk? (1974), Giraffe, the Silent Giant (1976), The Dangerous Life of the Sea Horse (1986), and Discovering Dinosaur Babies (1991).
Miriam Schlein married Harvey Weiss, an artist who illustrated some of her early works. Before her marriage with Weiss ended in divorce, the couple had two children.
Miriam Schlein died of vasculitis on 23 November 2004 in New York City.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Information included in the Content Description note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Information included in the Content Description note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
Creator
- Title
- Guide to the Miriam Schlein Papers
- Author
- by Jennifer Meehan, Leigh Golden, and Jessica Tai
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.