Lois Lenski was born Oct. 14, 1893 in Springfield, Ohio.

Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was a Lutheran minister.

She was the fourth of five children (three girls and two boys) in the family.

Lenski loved reading from an early age and liked art.

This well-known author and illustrator of children and young adult books grew up in the small village of Anna, Ohio.

She graduated from high school in 1911.

In 1915, she graduated from with a B.S. in Education and a minor in Art.

She traveled to London for more art instruction.

In 1921, she married Arthur Covey, a muralist who was a widower with two young children, Margaret (12) and Laird (four).

Covey had been one of her instructors.

In 1929, they had a son, Stephen. Because of health issues and Connecticut’s harsh winters, the family started spending winter months in Florida and eventually built a home in Tarpon Springs, Fla.

Lenski's first book, “Skipping Village,” was published in 1927. She published her last picture book, “Debbie and Her Pets,” in 1971 and her autobiography in 1972.

Over her 50 years of professional writing and illustrating, she illustrated some 50 books for other authors and wrote and illustrated 98 of her own books.

Lenski died Sept. 11, 1974 at her home in Florida.

Henryetta Public Library has two of her books, “Strawberry Girl” and “Lois Lenski’s Christmas Stories.”