Obituary: Steven Kroll
Oh. I heard with great sorrow that children’s author Steven Kroll passed away earlier this week. I don’t know how many of you ever had the chance to meet Steven. He was a big part of PEN here in New York City, which is where I’d usually run into him. Over the years I got to know his books better, and was able to incorporate a lot of them into my library. His Pooch on the Loose: A Christmas Adventure gets a lot of play in my library branch, thanks to the cover art. Stuff!: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle comes in very handy every Earth Day. I suspect that mine is not the only library lending out Mary McLean and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at this time of the year. And I always regretted not reviewing Kroll’s fantastic Dutton title Barbarians. We’ve more Viking books than you can shake a stick at, but how many books are out there about the Goths, the Huns, and the Mongols as well? That book was filling a need.
Steven always remembered my name and was always exceedingly nice to me. He left behind more than 90 books for kids, many of which will be remembered far and away into the future. And I, for one, will miss him very much.
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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It’s not computing yet….still in shock.
I was saddened to hear of Steven’s death yesterday. What a wonderful gentle man. Last year I arranged for him to visit 2 school book fairs, do an assembly and read to the children. They loved his stories. You’re right “Barbarians” fills a void. It fit right in with the 4th grade curriculum. The younger ones loved “Jungle Bullies”, his most recent book. I too will miss him, but will remember the joy he brought to the children and the legacy he leaves for them to read.
A lot of stars falling out of our skies the last couple of months.
This star was far too young to go nova.
Jane
News of Steven’s death is so sad. We both had apartments in Greenwich Village and
shared many times together dining in a favorite Hudson Street restaurant with friend,
Miriam Chaikin. The losses this month, Janet Schulman, Margaret K. McElderry, now
Steven…are overwhelming.
I’m sadden to hear this news. I illustrated a book of his called POOCH ON THE LOOSE. He was a really nice guy to work with and discuss industry news at the Books of Wonder Christmas party.