(born 1928), U.S. children’s author, born on Feb. 17, 1928, in Vermont. Children, teenagers, and adults alike found his style irresistible, despite the realistic and sometimes gory descriptions of farm life in many of his books.
Peck received an A.B. degree from Rollins College in 1953 and studied law at Cornell University. Peck served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947 and wrote his first book, ‘A Day No Pigs Would Die’ in 1973. The agony of the book’s hero over having to butcher his pet pig contrasts with the seeming stability of the rural setting.
Peck published more than 20 other books in the 1970s, including a volume of poetry called ‘Bee Tree and Other Stuff’ (1975). His book ‘Soup and Me’ (1975) was adapted for television’s After School Special in 1978. It and his other books about the character Soup reflect the author’s childhood on a farm in Vermont. He also wrote several historical novels, including ‘Rabbits and Redcoats’ (1976), which takes place at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, and a musical, ‘King of Kazoo’ (1976), which was intended to be enacted by children.