REMEMBERING EDITH RENFROW SMITH, July 14, 1914—January 2, 2026

Edith Renfrow Smith, age 110

Edith Renfrow Smith, the first black graduate of Grinnell College, lived a life devoted to her family and community. After graduation she moved from Iowa to Chicago but always maintained close family ties to the town of Grinnell where she had grown up. She has died at the age of 111. I first learned about Edith when I was involved in the production of the children’s book about her life, NO ONE IS BETTER THAN YOU: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of aMother’s Words, written by Monique Shore. (I provided editorial advice.) In the book I learned about Edith's childhood in one of the few Black families in Grinnell and about her later life in Chicago, where she married and raised her children, became a teacher, and then, after retirement, spent many years as a volunteer in the community.

In September 2024 I was honored to meet Edith and talk with her about her memories of Grinnell during the time that my husband Art’s father and his siblings were also growing up in Grinnell. (Edith was a classmate of Art’s uncle Don.) Edith was a living, breathing link to the past, and I was impressed that her mind at 110 was still so sharp. Her key to a long life? A positive outlook and joy for life. When asked about her secret she said:

“The Lord gives you the birthdays, and you take ‘em,” says Edith. “You have no choice. Take what you have, make use of it, and be thankful for what you have. Don’t let life pass you by. Remember, this is your life. It’s wonderful to live long enough to enjoy just being here.”

Edith will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Her memory will live on.

You can read her obituary in the Chicago Sun Times.

Edith in her graduation robe and as a young child with a ribbon in her hair. (Temporary wheat paste murals in Grinnell, created for the dedication of Renfrow Hall, 2024.)  

EDITH RENFROW SMITH, the First Black Woman to Graduate from Grinnell College—and still inspiring everyone she meets!

Front Cover: No One Is Better Than You

Edith Renfrow Smith was born in Grinnell, Iowa in 1914 to one of the few Black families in the area. In 1937 she became the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College. In 2024, at the age of 109, she continues to encourage and inspire everyone she meets. 

From the back cover of No One Is Better Than You

Her life story is told by Monique McLay Shore in her wonderful new picture book biography No One Is Better Than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of aMother’s Words. The beautiful and historically accurate illustrations are by Erica Lauren Butler.

Edith's graduation from Grinnell College, 1937. Illustration by Erica Butler.

Yesterday I received my first copy of the book, hot off the press. It is beautiful! I congratulate Monique and Erica for bringing Edith’s story to life and making it known to the wider world and for generations to come. The book is available at the Grinnell College Book Store.

I played a small part in the evolution of this book. Last spring I got an email from the alumni office at Grinnell College, (my alma mater,1966). I learned that another alum, Monique Shore (1990), was working on a children’s book biography of Edith Renfrow Smith. I had recently read about Edith in the college magazine so I was already intrigued. Knowing that I had published many children’s books, the alumni office asked if I would be willing to give any advice to Monique, who was new to the publishing world. Of course I agreed.

Monique had stayed in Grinnell after her graduation and became interested in local history. She works as a librarian at the town library. By the time I connected with her she had already done extensive research about Edith and her family, interviewed Edith and her daughter in Chicago and in Grinnell, and located an illustrator for the book. As I read Monique's manuscript I could see places where she could make it even better—by adding more details in some cases, moving some information to the back matter, and letting the illustrations tell the story in lieu of long descriptions.

Since Monique lives in Iowa and I live in Los Angeles, we met on Zoom. I had forgotten that the college yearbook is called The Cyclone. During one of our meetings I could hear the tornado watch siren as Monique hastily carried her computer to the basement of her house. But nothing stopped the progress of the book.

The process of shaping the manuscript that I went through with Monique was the same as when I am working on one of my own books except that in this case I was wearing the editor’s hat. And in the end, all the final decisions were made by Monique and Erica, with valuable input they got from Edith and her daughter. (It is rare that a biographer has the opportunity to get feedback from the subject of the book!) By mid-October the book was almost ready to go off to the publisher and Monique asked me to help with the proof reading—it is always good have a fresh pair of eyes to check one last time. Although I found a few small things, the book was in great shape and ready to go to the printer.

And now the book is ready for the world at large. Edith comes alive on every page through Monique’s well chosen words and Erica’s beautiful detailed illustrations. The story is a window on the life of a Black family in a small Iowa town in the first half of the 20^th century and later, on Edith’s adult life in Chicago, where she lives today. Although written for children, No One Is Better Than You is for all ages, and not just for people in Iowa and Chicago, but everywhere. And the theme is universal: No one is better than you. I highly recommend this book!

The story of the creation of No One Is Better Than You , from idea to printed page, is chronicled in Monique’s blog. You can also read about the book and its creation in an article celebrating its publication in the Southeast Iowa Union newspaper.

Edith with her mother. Illustration by Erica Butler.

THEN AND NOW: Revisiting a Childhood Book, Summer Outing

Caroline (age 4) and her brother Steve (10 mos.)

More than half a century ago, when I was four years old, my parents took a photo of me holding a book called Summer Outing. Next to me is my younger brother Steve. We were on a visit to the family farm in Ohio where my grandfather had grown up. I have no recollection of reading that book, but I have used the photo for many years in my author visit slide show at schools and libraries to illustrate my love for books as a young child.

Caroline with Summer Outing, 2023

Recently I decided to search online for Summer Outing and discovered a copy for sale at a used book supplier in Arkansas. I ordered the book and when it arrived, found that it had been published in 1902! The book is a bit worse for wear and one of its previous owners, Helene, has written her name in school girl script on the first page. She, or perhaps someone else, has colored in some of the drawings with crayons. But otherwise, the book is intact. 

Illustrated with black and white line drawings, it is a collection of poems and moralistic tales aimed at “young people”-- stories about Captain Bob (the boy who went fishing without telling his family), Spitz (a dog) and the Geese, The Disappointed Kitty (who didn’t catch the mouse), a poem about polliwogs, and many more. The stories are a window onto childhood a long time ago.

Inside pages of Summer Outing, published by Homewood Publishing Company, Chicago, 1902

In 1902, my grandfather, the oldest of six children, had already left the farm  to make a life for himself in Chicago, so perhaps the book had been purchased for his younger siblings. I will never know. But the fact that it had been kept for nearly fifty years shows that the family valued books. That love for books and reading was passed on to my grandfather, my father, and to me.

Books have always been an important part of my life.  My parents read to me when I was small, took me to the library, and when I got older I learned to read by myself. Summer Outing looks old-fashioned today and the text is antiquated, but I am glad that I have rediscovered it. 

Polliwogs

The cat-tails all along the brook are growing tall and green;

And in the meadow-pool, once more, the polliwogs are seen;

Among the duck-weed, in and out,

As quick as thought they dart about.

“Be patient, little polliwogs,

And by and by you’ll turn to frogs.”

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

Chicago Cultural Center, in the original Public Library Building

On a recent trip to Chicago, I walked down Michigan Avenue past Millenium Park on my way to the Art Institute, and on the West side of the street I saw a large elegant building, inscribed along the top as the Chicago Public Library. No longer a library, it is now the Chicago Cultural Center. Built in 1897, it was the Central Library for the City of Chicago for 96 years, when a new library was built nearby. 

I didn’t have time to visit the new library, but I was pleased to discover online that the catalogue lists 79 of my books, including my two new books PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 and KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: JULIET NICHOLS FIGHTS THE SAN FRANCISCO FOG.

SAVE THE DATE! ALA Chicago: Signing in the Charlesbridge Booth, Sunday, June 25 at 10:00

SAVE THE DATE!
If you are going to be at the American Library Association Conference in Chicago, June 22-27, 2017, I will be signing my new book Hatching Chicks in Room 6 in Room 6 at the Charlesbridge booth #3522 on Sunday, June 25th at 10:00 a.m. Please stop by! I'd love to see you!

IRA Conference: Think Outside the Book

Signing A Warmer World in the Charlesbridge Booth at IRA

Last week I was in Chicago for the IRA (International Reading Association) conference where I gave a presentation, signed books, did a radio interview, and enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones as I wandered the exhibit floor. My presentation, Think Outside the Book: Bringing Nonfiction Alive Through Hands-On Projects and Activities that Engage Readers and Make Them Want to Learn More was well attended (they had to close the doors when the room became full!) and people seemed to like it. A link to a PDF of the handout with directions to the projects is on my website. Lily DeSisto, the marketing person for my publisher, Charlesbridge, did a great job of coordinating my trip with a signing in the booth of A Warmer World, a delicious dinner with some of the other Charlesbridge authors, and setting up the podcast radio interview with Emily Manning of ReadWriteThink.  (When the interview is posted later this month I’ll post a link to it.)  During the conference I also had the pleasure of getting together with the people from Highlights and Boyds Mills for a nice dinner.  I didn’t have time to see much of Chicago outside the convention center, but you can go to my post for May 7 on The Intrepid Tourist for a report of my walk down Michigan Avenue to Millennium Park and the Art Institute.