Christmas in Legend and Story: A Book for Boys and Girls (Dodo Press)
Elva Sophronia Smith (1871-1965) was an American librarian, author
of children's books and was also considered an authority in
cataloguing children's literature. She started her career as a
teacher in California public schools, and then in 1899 she attained
a certificate from the Los Angeles Public Library training class.
In 1903, after graduation, she started teaching different subjects
including cataloguing, children's library work, book selection,
bibliography, storytelling, and even the history of children's
literature. Throughout her career she published professional
articles for librarians. She also wrote short stories and poems for
children. Her works include: Christmas in Legend and Story: A Book
for Boys and Girls (with Alice I. Hazeltine) (1915), Subject
Headings for Children's Books in Public Libraries and in
Libraries in Elementary and Junior High Schools (1933) and The
History of Children's Literature (1937).
