Erick Berry

Born Evangel Allena Champlin Best in 1892, Erick Berry was an American author, illustrator, and editor who wrote mainly for children and young readers. She used a pen name, and reliable biographical sources describe her as both a writer and an artist, which helps explain the vivid, picture-rich quality of her books.

Berry studied art and built a career that joined illustration with storytelling. Her work often drew on history, travel, and folklore, and she became especially well known for imaginative adventure stories such as The Winged Girl of Knossos. Across her career, she wrote and illustrated many books, bringing a strong sense of place and movement to her pages.

She died in February 1974. Today, she is remembered as a versatile mid-20th-century children's author whose books opened windows onto myth, history, and the wider world.