Armstrong Sperry was an award-winning author and illustrator of children's books. As a young man, Sperry traveled extensively among the islands of the Pacific, and his experiences at sea and among the peoples of Polynesia were to influence his art and writing for the rest of his life. His book All Sail Set, which he wrote about the clipper ship Flying Cloud, was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1936. Five years later, Call It Courage, a tale of a young Polynesian boy written and illustrated by Sperry won the Newbery Medal.
