May Garelick (McClintock) began writing children's books in the 1950s after working for some time at clerical, production and editorial positions at William R. Scott, Inc., a publishing firm in New York City. 

 

May was a great listener, and in listening to children she found many of the subjects of her books. Those children, now grown with children and grandchildren of their own, remember how much more fun it was, and how much more they preferred learning from May than from their teachers in school. For May and her countless children it was always about curiosity and an endless optimism.

 

May truly heard a different drummer. She was, from the start, fiercely independent, and never did anything because someone else expected her do it or thought it was the right thing to do. Some of us, a lucky few, were blessed to have had May during our growing-up years. For everyone else, you can have her books, and through them her joy and wonder and optimism about the world and every precious thing in it.

 

May died in 1989 in New York City. A collection of her manuscripts and correspondences is available at the University of Oregon Libraries.