Natalie Savage Carlson (October 3, 1906 – September 23, 1997) was an American writer of children's books. For her lifetime contribution as a children's writer, she was United States nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1966.
Carlson was born in Kernstown, Virginia, of French Canadian descent, and worked many old family stories and folktales into early books like The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada (1952). Carlson published her first story at age eight on the children's page of the Baltimore Sunday Sun. For The Family Under the Bridge, she was a runner-up for the 1959 Newbery Medal from the professional librarians, which annually recognizes the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".
Carlson died on September 23, 1997, in Rhode Island.
Works
The Talking Cat: and other stories of French Canada, illustrator Roger Duvoisin, Harper, 1952 The Happy Orpheline, illustrator Garth Williams, Harper, 1957 The Family Under the Bridge, Harper, 1958; reprint HarperCollins, 1989, A Brother for the Orphelines, illustrator Garth Williams, Harper, 1959 Evangeline, Pigeon of Paris, illustrator Nicholas Mordvinoff, Harcort Brace Jovanovich, 1960; reissued as Pigeon of Paris, illustrator Quentin Blake, Scholastic, 1972 The Tomahawk Family, illustrator Stephen Cook, Harper, 1960 A Pet for the Orphelines, illustrator Fermin Rocker, Harper, 1962 Jean-Claude's Island, illustrator Nancy Ekholm Burkert, Harper & Row, 1963. School Bell in the Valley, Harcourt, 1963, The Orphelines in the Enchanted Castle, illustrator Adriana Saviozzi, Harper, 1964 The Empty Schoolhouse, HarperCollins, 1965, Chalou, Harper & Row, 1967, pictures George Loh, AC 67-10034 Ann Aurelia and Dorothy, illustrator Dale Payson, Harper & Row, 1968 The Half Sisters, illustrator Thomas Di Grazia, Harper & Row, 1970 Luvvy and the Girls, illustrator Thomas Di Grazia, Harper & Row, 1971 Marie Louise's Heyday, illustrators Jose Aruego, Ariane Dewey, Scribner, 1975, Runaway Marie Louise, illustrators Jose Aruego, Ariane Dewey, Scribner, 1977, The Night the Scarecrow Walked, illustrators Charles Robinson, 1979, King of the Cats, and Other Tales, illustrated by David Frampton, Doubleday, 1980