Eleanor Frances Lattimore was an born in what "the American Compound" in Shanghai, where her father, David Lattimore, taught English at a Chinese government university. She was the sister of poet and classics translator Richmond Lattimore and of China expert Owen Lattimore. In 1920, her father took a position as professor of Chinese studies at Dartmouth College, and she moved with her family to Hanover, New Hampshire. She studied art in Oakland, California, Boston, and New York City, and then worked as a freelance artist. She went on to But she became known as the author and illustrator of more than fifty popular children's books. A number of her stories are based on her experiences growing up in China. Her first book, Little Pear (1943), is considered a children's classic.
