| Membership level: Hall of Fame Jim Aylesworth Inductee Year 1998 |  |
| Noted children's author Jim Aylesworth graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in 1961. He received his BA in English from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1965. He began teaching first grade at Hatch School in Oak Park in 1971, where he stayed until 1996. In 1978 he received his MA in Education from Concordia University, River Forest. He began writing children's picture books during the mid-70's in his Hinsdale home. In 1980, Jim's first children's hardcover book, Hush Up, was published. By 1988 he had published seven children's books and the number now totals over twenty-four. Some of his titles include One Crow, Mother Halverson's New Cat, The Gingerbread Man, and Through the Night. Mr. Aylesworth has been honored by the Illinois State Board of Education with its "Those Who Excel Award" in 1975; and in 1985 was named "Alumnus of the Year" by Concordia University. His book, Old Black Fly, earned him the Reading Magic Award from "Parenting Magazine," and the Notable Book for Children Award from the American Library Association, among others. The National Council of Teachers of English named My Son John, published in 1994, a Notable Children's Book. Mr. Aylesworth currently spends much of his time traveling around the country presenting programs and speaking to schools and other groups about children's literature. |
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