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Children's author and editor May Garelick was born in 1910 in Vobruisk, Russia. Her family emigrated to the United States when she was nine months old. She attended school in New York City, and spent two years in college. Garelick married editor and children's author Marshall (Mike) McClintock, who was for years a friend and editor of children's author Dr. Seuss.
Garelick's life career was in the publishing business, with her jobs ranging from clerical worker to production manager. She was an editor of children's books for the William R. Scott Company for several years, as well as a children's European editor for the E.P. Dutton Publishing Company.
Garelick wrote her books as responses to either questions posed to her by children, or as responses to her own curiosity. One of her books, Look at the Moon, was written as a result of a four-year-old French girl's question to her, years earlier in France. The girl asked Garelick if America had a moon, and if it was as pretty as the moon in France. She was astonished to learn from Garelick that it was in fact the same moon. Look at the Moon asks and eventually answers the question: "Does everyone see the moon I see, the very same moon that shines on me?"
Before publishing her books, Garelick would read them to a classroom of children using their criticisms and comments as a guide. Using the joint pseudonym Garel Clark, Garelick and Esther McCullough wrote cookbooks for children, such as Let's Start Cooking (W.R. Scott, 1951) and The Cook-a Meal Cook Book (W.R. Scott, 1953).
Garelick died December 6, 1989 in Manhattan, New York.
Sources:
Commine, Anne. Something About the Author. Vol. 19. Detroit: Gale Research Institute, 1980.
Troskey, Susan. Contemporary Authors. Vol. 130. Detroit: Gale Research Institute, 1990.
The May Garelick collection consists mainly of manuscripts and some correspondence ranging from the years 1957 to 1979. The majority of the correspondence is between Garelick and her editors and publishers, mainly from the Thomas Y. Crowell and the Follett Publishing companies. A series of letters from school children thanking her for school visits is also included.
The manuscripts series is arranged alphabetically by title. Included are materials for eleven of Garelick's books. With the manuscripts series are notes, drafts, galley proofs, layouts, page proofs and book dummies. Notable in the About Owls section is a book dummy with original illustrations. Also of interest in the Wild Ducks and Daffodils section is a book layout containing original artwork.