Elizabeth Coatsworth has written over ninety books, her productive years spanning the period from 1927 to 1976. She has written over eighty story-books and five volumes of poetry for children; her other works are directed toward adult readers of prose and poetry. Although Coatsworth's work ranges from realistic and historical fiction to legends and fantasies, when her name is mentioned, most readers think of her fourth children's book, The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1930), Newbery Medal winner in 1931.

Buffalo, New York, the place of Coatsworth's birth on 31 May 1893, was then a large, friendly town with elm-lined streets and horse-drawn carriages. As Coatsworth herself describes her childhood, she went to a school modeled on the English educational system of long hours and severe discipline. "Living as I did two miles away I was seldom home before dusk," but summer took the family, including her parents, Ida Reid and William T. Coatsworth...