Children's author Ellen Levine dies at age 73

The Associated Press, Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 7:14am (PDT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ellen Levine, a prolific and highly regarded author and activist whose children's books told stories of slaves, immigrants and the fight for social justice, has died. She was 73.

Levine died May 26 in New York after being diagnosed with lung cancer 19 months earlier, according to Scholastic Inc. The publisher announced her death Wednesday and said that her longtime partner, Anne Koedt, whom she married last fall, was at her side.

Her books included "Henry's Freedom Box," which was a Caldecott Honor book, "Darkness Over Denmark" and "I Hate English," about a Chinese girl trying to learn a new language. She also worked on documentaries for CBS television. A native of New York, she was an undergraduate at Brandeis University and received a law degree from New York University.