Elizabeth Lewis

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1892, Elizabeth Foreman Lewis studied art before turning to writing. In 1917 she traveled to China, where she spent many years working in educational and religious settings, and those experiences became the heart of her fiction for children.

She is most famous for Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, which won the 1933 Newbery Medal. Many of her books were set in China and introduced young American readers to Chinese settings, customs, and characters through stories shaped by observation and travel.

Lewis continued writing for children through the 1930s and 1940s, building a reputation for lively storytelling and strong sense of place. She died in 1958, but her work is still remembered for opening a wider world to young readers.