David Elliott
, b. 1947
David Elliott was born into a working-class family in a small farming town in Ohio. He began writing stories as a teenager, although his first submission to The New Yorker was returned to him torn in half. He aspired to be an opera singer, and studied classical singing at a conservatory. He has had a number of unusual jobs, including being a pop singer in Mexico, washing cucumbers in Greece, and making popsicle sticks in Israel. He also taught English in Libya, and lectured in creative writing and literary studies at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire.
He is the author of a number of picture books, including This Orq (2014), about a cave boy and his wooly mammoth, and Baabwaa and Wooliam (2017), a love story about two sheep. He has also written chapter books for juvenile readers, including the Evangeline Mudd series (2004) and Jeremy Cabbage (2008), and currently has several books in production. The verse novel Bull (2017) is a radical departure from his lighthearted, humorous work for younger readers, but reflects another aspect of his enduring interest in wordplay. Elliott has a wife, Barbara, and a son, Eli. He lives in Warner, New Hampshire.
Bio prepared by Miriam Riverlea, University of New England, miriam.riverlea@gmail.com
Records in database:
