Harriet May Savitz: Author and Advocate..Remarkable Women in History

Harriet May Savitz was born in Newark New Jersey On May.19.1933, and began writing at the age of nine! daughter of Samuel and Susan (Trulick) Blatstein; married Ephraim Savitz (her husband was a pharmacist)

Of Jewish ethnicity Harriet May Savitz did not shy away from tackling such things as disabilities, disability access, and rights long before the American was Disability Act was passed.

In 1971 Harriet May Savitz book Fly Wheels, Fly was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Memorial Children’s Book Award.

And in 1975-76 The Lionhearted was listed in University of Iowa’s Books for Young Adults as one of most popular books read by teenagers; Outstanding Author Award, Pennsylvania School Library Association, 1981; nomination for California Young Reader Medal in the high school category for Run, Don’t Walk!

In 1983-1984 Harriet May Savitz received recognition for Wheelchair Champions in celebration of the International Year of Disabled Persons.

In her career Harriet May Savitz wrote over 24 books as well as coauthored Is A Worry, Worrying You!

Her books deal with everything from Spinal Cord Injuries. (The Lionhearted) To the worries Children Face (Is A Worry, Worrying You) A Girls Best Friend tackles a young girl coming to terms with her blindness!

Harriet May Savitz was an advocate for the disabled when far few people were. She gave a voice to those who often felt their voice had been silenced.

She died on July.20.2008 at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, N.J. from Pancreatic Cancer, but her influence and voice lives on through her remarkable books!

(C) Michelle R Kidwell

March.10.2022