Author Birthday – 4 October – Donald J. Sobol
Donald J. Sobol was born on 2 October 1924 and died on 11 July 2012.
Donald J. Sobol Quotes
- The case called for plain, old-fashioned police leg work!
- An encyclopedia is a book or set of books filled with facts from A to Z. So was Encyclopedia’s head. He had read more books than just about anyone in Idaville, and he never forgot what he read.
- Encyclopedia usually would solve the case with just one question. Usually before dessert.
- I was very careful not to put into any book anything that would be out of date in a few years.
- Readers constantly ask me if Encyclopedia Brown is a real boy. The answer is no. He is, perhaps, the boy I wanted to be—doing the things I wanted to read about but could not find in any book when I was 10.
- My childhood was unimpoverished and joyful. Even worse, I loved and admired my parents.
- I don’t want it [writing] to end. I know how it will end—everybody knows that because we all end up in the same place.
Source for quotes: Goodreads and EdW
Donald J. Sobol was an American author best known for creating the beloved Encyclopedia Brown series, which features a young boy detective who solves mysteries. Sobol graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in English literature in 1948 and he began his career as a copy boy for the New York Sun. He eventually worked his way up to reporter. He moved to Florida and started writing full-time. He wrote the syndicated series Two-Minute Mysteries in 1958, starring criminologist Dr. Haledjian, which ran for more than ten years. In 1963, he started writing the Encyclopedia Brown series, featuring Leroy ‘Encyclopedia’ Brown, a schoolboy who was an amateur sleuth. His contributions to children’s literature earned him several awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his overall body of work.
Source for photograph: Vintage America Uncovered
by Amanda Patterson
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