Duffy's Rocks

An Irish-Catholic boy growing up in the Pittsburgh area in the 1930's painfully searches for his identity.

Edward Fenton (1917-1995), the author of Duffy's Rocks, was born in New York City, but lived mainly in Italy and Greece. His writing included works for both children and adults, but his best known works are those for younger readers. Fenton translated two books by Aliki Zei, both of which won the Batchelder prize for translation. It is said that a friend of Fenton's from New York invited him to McKees Rocks for a family wedding , and from that visit and discussions about the friend's childhood, the story for Timothy Brennan developed. Although Fenton never lived in Pittsburgh, his understanding of the ethnic richness of the city is clear in his depiction of the Brennan family and their neighbors. In his approach to writing stories for younger readers, Fenton claimed that "Children hunger for plot. The recognition of this desire for a story is another way of saying that they require form. . . . They are absolutely logical and impossible to deceive. They know when the Emperor is wearing no more than his underdrawers."

Dr. Margaret Mary Kimmel is professor in the department of Library and Information Science where she teaches children's literature and courses related to the provision of information services to young people. With Mark Collins, Dr. Kimmel co-edited Mr. Rogers Neighborhood: Children Television and Fred Rogers, and For Reading Out Loud with Elizabeth Segal. Active in many professional associations, Dr. Kimmel is a member of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees. Kimmel received the Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Service in 1996.