Reba Paeff Mirsky

Born in Boston on May 25, 1902, Reba Paeff Mirsky grew up in a family of Russian immigrant parents who trained their children in music. She entered Radcliffe at a young age, studied music, and went on to build a career that blended classical musicianship with writing for children.

Mirsky wrote fiction as well as nonfiction for younger readers. She is especially noted for her books about the fictional Zulu girl Nomusa, including Thirty-One Brothers and Sisters (1952), Seven Grandmothers (1955), and Nomusa and the New Magic (1962). She also wrote a series of composer biographies, introducing figures such as Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Brahms to young audiences in a clear, approachable way.

In 1953, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a sign of the respect her work had earned. She died in New York on November 22, 1966, leaving behind books that reflect both her musical background and her gift for making history and culture feel vivid to children.