Clara Vostrovsky Winlow

Born in Nebraska to Czech immigrant parents, Clara Vostrovsky Winlow — also known as Claire Winlow-Vostrovsky — grew up in a family deeply connected to Czech culture. She studied at Stanford University and is remembered as the first Czech-American woman to earn a university degree.

After college, she taught in California and later worked at the Los Angeles Public Library, where she led foreign-language services. She also lectured and wrote about Czech history, literature, and traditions, helping immigrant communities and American readers alike stay connected to Central European culture.

Her best-known work includes several volumes in the children's "Our Little Cousin" series, such as books about Bohemian, Romanian, Finnish, and other European children. These stories mixed fiction with cultural detail, giving young readers a friendly introduction to daily life, customs, and traditions in places many of them had never seen.