# Edith Howes > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edith_Howes > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edith_Howes.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Howes > Source revision: 1354451023 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|NZ teacher, writer, educationalist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} {{Infobox person | name = Edith Howes | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MBE|size=100%}} | image = Edith Annie Howes in 1900s.jpg | caption = in the 1900s | birth_name = Edith Annie Howes | birth_date = {{Birth date|1872|08|29|df=y}} | birth_place = [London](/source/London), England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1954|07|09|1872|08|29|df=y}} | death_place = [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin), New Zealand | death_cause = | other_names = | known_for = Children's books | education = | employer = | occupation = | political_party = | boards = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Edith Annie Howes''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MBE|size=85%}} (29 August 1872 – 9 July 1954) was a New Zealand teacher, educationalist, and writer of children's literature. She was a [Member of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) and received the [King George VI Coronation Medal](/source/King_George_VI_Coronation_Medal) for her services to literature. ==Family and education== She was born in [London](/source/London), England, one of five children of Cecilia Brown and William Howes, a post office clerk and accountant. Her brother [George](/source/George_Howes_(entomologist)) became a noted [entomologist](/source/entomologist). The family emigrated to [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand) when she was very young. She attended [Kaiapoi Borough School](/source/Kaiapoi_Borough_School), where she later became a [pupil teacher](/source/pupil_teacher). ==Teaching career== In 1893 she completed her training to become a teacher at [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch). She taught at several different schools including Ashburton, Wanganui, and [Makarewa](/source/Makarewa) before becoming the infant mistress at Gore School in 1899. She eventually rose to be [headmistress](/source/headmistress), remaining in that position from 1914 until 1917. In 1917 she moved to the [Wellington Girls' College](/source/Wellington_Girls'_College), where she was the head of the junior department. She stayed in this position until 1919, when she retired from teaching. Howe was an early advocate for the [Montessori](/source/Montessori_education) method and the philosophy behind [kindergartens](/source/kindergartens). She became known as an educational reformer, pushing for a less institutional learning environment featuring smaller class sizes and quieter, more comfortable classrooms. She was a feminist who believed strongly that higher education was critical for women to participate fully in civic life. thumb|Illustration for Howe's book ''Wonderwings'' by Alice Polson ==Writings== left|thumb|A recording of "Wonderwings" Howe began writing children's books around 1910, believing that stories and songs helped children to learn. Although she worked in the genre of fairy tales, she saw that there was not enough written material on scientific subjects available to New Zealand schoolchildren, so she made a point of incorporating scientific information and natural phenomena into her books. For example, in ''The Cradle Ship'' (1916) she offered a true account of where babies come from, making the book a minor landmark in sex education for children. She wrote some 30 books altogether, the best-known of which are ''Fairy Rings'' (1911) and ''The Cradle Ship'', which was translated into several other languages. Howe also wrote for adults, including books on education (''Tales Out of School''; ''The Great Experiment''), plays, and an opera libretto. Her play ''Rose Lane'' (1936) won a [British Drama League](/source/British_Drama_League) prize. In [1928](/source/1928_Nobel_Prize_in_Literature), she was nominated for the [Nobel Prize in Literature](/source/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature) by professor of history Francis Prendeville Wilson of [University of New Zealand](/source/University_of_New_Zealand).{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/archive/show_people.php?id=4332|title=Edith Howes|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-04}} The [Nobel Committee](/source/Nobel_Committee_for_Literature) stated that they have "not found any reason to call for the Nobel Prize" because "the proposal concerns a small educational book for children in a fairly appealing form."{{cite book| url=http://libris.kb.se/bib/8345517| title=Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901–1950| first=Bo| last=Svensén| date=2001| publisher=Svenska Akademien| isbn=978-91-1-301007-6| accessdate=11 November 2020}} In the [1935 King's Birthday Honours](/source/1935_Birthday_Honours_(New_Zealand)), Howes was appointed a [Member of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire), for public services,{{London Gazette |issue=34166 |date=3 June 1935 |pages=3611 |supp=y}} and in 1937 she was awarded the [King George VI Coronation Medal](/source/King_George_VI_Coronation_Medal). She moved to [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin) in 1941 and lived there until her death on 9 July 1954. ==Publications== * ''Fairy Rings'' (1911) * ''Where the Bell Birds Chime'' (1912) * ''Maoriland Fairy Tales'' (1913) * ''Stewart Island'' (1913) * ''The Sun's Babies'' (1910; illustrated by Frank Watkins) * ''Buttercups'' (1914) * ''The Cradle Ship'' (1916; illustrated by [Florence Mary Anderson](/source/Florence_Mary_Anderson)) * ''Tales Out of School'' (1919) * ''The Singing Fish'' (1921) * ''Wonderwings and Other Fairy Stories'' (1921; illustrated by Alice Polson) * ''The Rainbow'' (1922) * ''The Dream-Girl's Garden'' (1923; illustrated by [Daisy Osborn](/source/Daisy_Osborn)) * ''Tales of Maori Magic'' (1928) * ''Silver Island'' (1928; illustrated by Kathleen Coales) * ''Safe Going'' (1931) * ''The Great Experiment'' (1932) * ''The Poppy Seed: And Other Nature Stories'' (1943) * ''Riverside Family'' (1944) * ''Marlborough Sounds: The Waters of Restfulness'' * ''The Long Bright Land: Fairy Tales from Southern Seas'' ==References== {{Reflist | refs= {{DNZB|Murray|Heather |3h39|Howes, Edith Annie |14 November 2016}} Stafford, Jane, and Mark Williams. ''Maoriland: New Zealand Literature, 1872–1914'', p. 155. }} ==External links== {{Portal|Children's literature}} * {{Gutenberg author | id=9250| name=Edith Howes}} * {{FadedPage|id=Howes, Edith|name=Edith Howes|author=yes}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Edith Annie Howes}} * {{Librivox author |id=2318}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Howes, Edith Annie}} Category:1872 births Category:1954 deaths Category:English emigrants to New Zealand Category:New Zealand educators Category:New Zealand women educators Category:New Zealand women writers Category:New Zealand writers Category:Writers from London Category:New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edith Howes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Howes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Howes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.