Marjorie Flack (October 22, 1897 - August 29, 1958)
Marjorie Flack was born in Greenport, Long Island. She was an artist and writer of children’s picture books. Flack is best known for The Story About Ping (1933), featuring a spirited little duck who lives on a boat in the Yangtze River. This story was popularized by Captain Kangaroo. In 1947, Flack was given a Caldecott Honor for her book, The Boats on the River, illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum.
Marjorie Flack's grandson, Tim Barnum, and his wife, Darlene Enix-Barnum, currently sponsor an annual creative writing award at Anne Arundel Community College. The award, called The Marjorie Flack Award for Fiction, consists of a $250 prize for the best short story or children's storybook written by a current AACC student.
