Michael Richard Cart

Michael Cart was born on March 6, 1941, in Logansport, Indiana, the son of George and Virginia (Steele) Cart. He graduated from Logansport High School in 1959 as valedictorian of his class. He continued his education at Northwestern University, where, a McCormack Scholar, he graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree. He subsequently earned a Master of Science in Library and Information Science degree from Columbia University in the City of New York. Michael served as a public library administrator for twenty-five years the last fifteen of which as Director of the Beverly Hills, California Public Library where, he joked, he was librarian to the stars. In 1991 he took early retirement to pursue a career as a writer, publishing twenty-three books over the next twenty-five years. His writing also appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The San Franciso Chronicle, and Parents magazine. Long active professionally, Michael served as President of both the Young Adult Library Services Association and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English, the only person to have done so Michael was one of America’s leading experts on young adult literature and authored the standard history of the genre From Romance to Realism. He was also the leading expert on the writing of Walter R. Brooks, creator of the beloved children’s book character Freddy the Pig. Michael authored the biography of Brooks, Talking Animals and Others. For twenty-five years Michael’s collections numbered 15,000 volumes. His books and papers have been donated to the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s and Young Adult Literature at California State University, Fresno. Michael was a founding Director of the Center. Michael received numerous awards including the Grolier Foundation Award for distinguished service to children and literature; the ALAN Award for service to service to young adults and young adults’ literature; the St. Catherine Drexel Award from the Catholic Library Association and the YALSA Greenwood Press Distinguished Service Award (inaugural recipient). He was also named a Bradshaw Scholar at Texas Women’s University. He taught there and at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After thirty-three years in California, Michael returned to Indiana in 2006 and became a member of Faith Lutheran Church, where he served as a lector and Elder. He is survived by a brother-in-law, Donald Dickherber; niece, Amanda (Troy) Fleming; three great-nephews, Rhett (Janelle), Wyatt (Maddie) Fleming, and Andrew ( McKenna) David; and great-great-niece, Eleanor Fleming. He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Marcia Dickherber; and a nephew, Alexander Dickherber. A Memorial service for Michael will be at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Faith Lutheran Church with Pastor Josiah Fitch officiating. A gathering of friends and family will be from 11:00 a.m. until service time at the church. Military rights will be performed at the church immediately following the service by the Bartholomew County Veterans Honor Guard.