Legal name: McKown, Robin Clason
Birthdate: 1907-01-27
Date of death: 1975-08
Gender: female
Education: University of Colorado
University of Illinois
Occupations: children's book author
young adult writer
radio scriptwriter
Relationships: Clason, George S. (father)
Clason, Clyde B. (brother)
Short biography: Robin McKown, née Clason, was born in Denver, Colorado. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She worked for several years for a publicist in New York. She also wrote newspaper columns on contemporary authors and their work and scripts for CBS radio. In World War II, she volunteered to raise funds to help support survivors of those killed in the French Resistance. She was a prolific writer who published more than 40 works for children and young adults from the late 1950s through the 1970s. Many of these were biographies of famous people such as Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, Thomas Paine, Eleanor Roosevelt and others.
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, USA
Places of residence: New York, New York, USA
Place of death: Beaver Dams, New York, USA
Associated Place (for map): New York, USA

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6 reviews

meggyweg 1,128 reviews

Girl of Madagascar by Robin McKown

This is a decent enough if not extraordinary story about a young Malagasy girl who defies the odds and becomes an excellent nurse in a difficult environment. It's set in the 1960s, just after Madagascar became independent from France. Though the protagonist, Sahondra, is in her twenties through most of the story, I think this has a more "young adult" tone than an "adult" feel.

Although it wasn't very literary, I liked this book well enough but for one thing: It's overly didactic. The show more characters are constantly slipping in facts about Madagascar and its history into their dialogue, to the point where they often sound like encyclopedias. For example, Sahondra's uncle remembers how he met his wife, who came from a different tribe: "Naturally I sought her out. Only to discover that she was Sakalava! You know about the Sakalava -- a tribe of valiant warriors whom our Merina ancestors never were able to subdue." I can't imagine actual Malagasy people talking to each other like that. show less

Oct 5, 2009

Fourpawz2 65 reviews

Washington's America by Robin McKown

I have a certain fondness for this book - my grandfather bought it for me when I was recovering from chicken pox - and not only was it the first history I had ever read, but it was the first one I'd owned. True, it pretty much dodges the whole issue of slavery and Washington's part in it, but for a 1950's history meant for children it is surprisingly adult in tone.

May 12, 2007

Jcambridge 244 reviews

The World of Mary Cassatt. (Women of America) by Robin McKown

Having recently read I Always Loved You, an historical novel about the relationship between Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas, I was eager to learn more about Cassatt and her contemporaries. I came across this book among donations made to our country library. It is a most interesting read and reveals so much more about Cassatt than the fictional account. It covers her entire life and provides greater historical perspective of life in both Europe and the US during the late 19th and early 20th show more century. This book also contains photographs of many works by Cassatt and other artists of this period. I thoroughly enjoyed it (much more than the novel) and would highly recommend it. show less

May 30, 2014

JanelleBailey 1,424 reviews

Benjamin Franklin by Robin McKown