George Selden Thompson was born in Hartford, Connecticut on May 14, 1929. He graduated from Yale University in 1951 and studied in Rome for a year on a Fulbright Scholarship. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 15 children's books and 2 plays under the name George Selden. His first book, The Cricket in Times Square, was published in 1960. It won a John Newbery Medal in 1961 and was made into an animated film in 1973. His other works include Tucker's Countryside, The Old Meadow, and Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse. He died from complications from a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on December 5, 1989 at the age of 60.
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