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Patricia McKissack and her husband, Fredrick, shared a “missionary zeal” to write books about black personalities “where there hadn’t been any before,” their son said.
John L. White/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via Associated Press; thumbnail, Knopf Books for Young Readers
Patricia McKissack
Died on April 7, 2017 at age 72
Ms. McKissack transformed a career crisis into a prolific literary partnership with her husband, Fredrick McKissack, that produced scores of children’s books about black history and folklore, hoping in particular to inspire black children. “When children don’t see themselves in books, they aren’t motivated to read,” she said.
Notable Deaths 2017
Remembering Mary Tyler Moore, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lewis, David Rockefeller, Trisha Brown, Glen Campbell, Dick Gregory, Edith Windsor, Sam Shepard, Tom Petty and many others who died this year.