Ellin Greene was a consultant in library services for children, writer and storyteller. She received her MLS degree from the Graduate School of Library Service and her doctorate in Creative Arts Education from the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers – the State University of New Jersey. A former associate professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School, Ellin was a nationally and internationally known storyteller, lecturer, workshop leader and conference director. In 1981, she was honored with membership in the Douglass Society (distinguished alumnae of Douglass College). She is listed in several Who’s Who (Marquis) and was awarded a certificate of merit for Distinguished Achievement from the World Who’s Who of Women (Cambridge) in 1986.
Before joining academia, Ellin was Storytelling Specialist and Assistant Coordinator of Children’s Services at the New York Public Library and Children’s Literature Specialist at the National College of Education. She was the author and director of “The Illustrator as Storyteller” project, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ellin served as consultant to various publishers and producers of materials for children and was chair of numerous committees for the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, including the Caldecott Committee. She served on the Board of Directors in the fledgling years of NAPPS, was a featured teller at the 20th anniversary of the National Storytelling Festival, and in 2002 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Storytelling Network.
Ellin co-authored (with Augusta Baker) the first two editions of Storytelling: Art and Technique and is the author of the third edition (Bowker-Greenwood). She is also the author of Books, Babies, and Libraries: Serving Infants, Toddlers, Their Parents and Caregivers (American Library Association). She retold several folktales for children, including The Little Golden Lamb (Clarion), which received a Storytelling World Honor and is listed in The New York Public Library’s Children’s Books 2000 – One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing.
In Something About the Author (Volume 23) Ellin writes: “I have a deep interest in literature, especially imaginative literature, including folk and fairy tales, fantasy, and poetry for both adults and children…I believe imaginative literature keeps us in touch with what is most human in us. As a librarian/teacher, I am interested in introducing this literature to children and adults, especially through the art of storytelling. I also attempt to do this through my books.”