May Massee (1881-1966)^[1] was a children's book editor. Massee became the head of Doubleday's first juvenile department in 1922. Upon leaving Doubleday, she started Viking Press's first juvenile department in 1932^[2]. Prior to working at Doubleday, Massee had been editor of the American Library Association's Booklist^[3].

Massee was the editor for a number of popular children's writers including Marjorie Flack, Ludwig Bemelmans, and Robert McCloskey^[2][4][5].

In 1958, Massee was awarded the AIGA's medal for "recognition of [her] exceptional achievements, services or other contributions to the field of graphic design and visual communication"^[6]

It was to Massee that Madeline book creator Ludwig Bemelmans once wrote a note explaining his attitude towards writing a children's book: "We are writing for Children but not for Idiots"^[7].

The May Massee Collection, was formed by colleagues and friends of children's literature editor May Massee and donated to what is now Emporia State University, in 1972^[8].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• May Massee Collection

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