SHIRLEE NEWMAN

Shirlee Newman (1924-2017) was a children's book author.  She wrote both fiction (Tell Me Grandma, Tell Me Grandpa) and non-fiction. In fact, her specialty was biographies of famous women, including the opera singer Marian Anderson and the Hawaiian queen Liliokalani.

She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and after attending high school in Los Angeles, California and working in Hollywood, she returned to Boston where she raised her family while continuing to write books. 

Shirlee loved yoga and organic food decades before they became popular. Shirlee's grandson, David Witkin, David's wife Saori, and Shirlee's great-grandsons Sage and Tyler Witkin, are proud to honor Shirlee in a place where she loved to spend her free time: the library.