Esther Averill
Born	Esther Holden Averill July 24, 1902(1902-07-24) Bridgeport, Connecticut
Died	May 19, 1992 New York City
Occupation	Author, illustrator
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Vassar College (1923)
Genres	Children’s Literature
Notable work(s)	The Cat Club Series
Notable award(s)	New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year, for "Jenny's Birthday Book" (1954)

Esther Averill (July 24, 1902 – May 19, 1992) was an American author and illustrator best known for The Cat Club Series, a collection of 13 stories featuring Jenny Linsky, a small black cat who wore a red scarf in all of her adventures.

Contents 1 Life 2 The Cat Club Series 3 Sources 4 See also

[edit] Life

Averill was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where as a teenager she enjoyed drawing cartoons and writing. After graduating from Vassar College in 1923, she joined the editorial staff of Women's Wear Daily. In 1925 she moved to Paris, France as an assistant to a photojournalist. In 1931, Averill founded the Domino Press, which specialized in “children's picture books illustrated by gifted young artists and reproduced by means of the excellent color processes that were available”. Domino's first publication was Averill's book "Daniel Boone", illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky, who later went on to win the Caldecott Medal for his children's illustrations. Domino Press published several more children's books before it ceased operations in 1938.

Averill returned to the United States in 1941. In 1944, she wrote and illustrated “The Cat Club”, the first in a series of stories about a cat, Jenny Linsky, who lived in New York City with her master, the benevolent Captain Tinker. Between 1944 and 1972, Averill wrote and illustrated a dozen more stories about Jenny Linsky and her cat friends, all of whom were based on cats Averill owned or knew.

Averill died in New York City on May 19, 1992.

[edit] The Cat Club Series

The Cat Club, 1944

The School For Cats, 1947

Jenny's First Party, 1948

Jenny's Moonlight Adventure, 1949

When Jenny Lost Her Scarf, 1951

Jenny's Adopted Brothers, 1952

How the Brothers Joined the Cat Club, 1953

Jenny's Birthday Book, 1954

Jenny Goes to Sea, 1957

Jenny's Bedside Book, 1959

The Fire Cat, 1960

The Hotel Cat, 1969

Captains of the City Streets, 1972

[edit] Sources

• Something About the Author, Volume 28 (1982), pp. 39-43
• New York Review of Books biography
• University of Southern Mississippi, deGrummond Collection
• University of Southern Mississippi, Children’s Literature Research Collections

[edit] See also

• The New York Review Children's Collection