Noble, Trinka
Oct. 8, 1994 –
Place of Birth: Albion, MI
Place of Principle Residence: Bernardsville, New Jersey
Biography:
Trinka Noble grew up on a farm with her parents, Carl and Heva, and her six brothers and sisters. The numerous animals wandering about her family’s farm planted an appreciation in Noble, a love that later came out in her books, particularly The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash. According to Noble, she first wanted to become an artist at age two by smelling crayons. Childhood memories like these appear in several of Noble’s books. In second grade, her teacher posted her drawing on the bulletin board, an act Noble vividly remembers today. The author memorialized her teacher in The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash, by naming a character after her. Noble also praised her father in her book Apple Tree Christmas for buying her a drawing board for Christmas during her childhood. In 1967 Noble graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor’s degree of the fine arts and subsequently attended two schools in New York City: Patterson’s School of Design and the New School of Social Research. One of her crowning moments was studying with Caldecott medalist Uri Schulevitz in a Greenwich Village workshop. Noble has worked as an art teacher in elementary schools in Michigan, Virginia, and Rhode Island. She currently lives in a house built in 1780 located in the Jockey Hollow area of Bernardsvill, New Jersey and dedicates herself to writing and illustrating picture books.
Selected Works:
- The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash (1980)
- Hansey’s Mermaid (1983)
- Meanwhile Back at the Ranch (1987)
- Jimmy’s Boa and the Big Splash Birthday Bash (1989)
Awards
- American Booksellter Pick of the List
- Booklist Children’s Editors’ Choice for Jimmy’s Boa and the Big Splash Birthday Bash
- American Book Award
- Reading Rainbow Featured Selection
- American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
- North Dakota Flicker-Tail Children’s Book Award
- Arizona Young Reader’s Award for Meanwhile Back at the Ranch
- Child Study Children’s Book Committee Books of the Year
- Junior Literary Guild Selection for Apple Tree Christmas
- IRA-CBC Children’s Choice for Jimmy’s Boa Bounces Back
Critical Reception:
Noble’s quirky stories and illustrations have received much recognition. The Day Jimmy’s Boa ate the Wash and Jimmy’s Boa and The Big Splash Birthday Bash have been translated into six different languages. In 2002 Noble was names Outstanding Woman in Arts and Letters in the state of New Jersey for her dedication to writing for children.
Relevance of Place to Writing:
Noble’s childhood on a Michigan farm clearly shines through her writing. Developing a boa as a principle character in her book traces back to the number of animals traipsing around her farm. The encouragement she received from childhood figures like her second-grade teachers and her father fueled her desire to become a nationally recognized writer and illustrator.