Elizabeth Janet Gray was born on October 6, 1902 in Philadelphia, PA. She was a graduate of Germantown Friends School and received an AB from Bryn Mawr College in 1923. In 1926, she earned an MS in library science from the Drexel Institute, and became a librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Elizabeth married Morgan Fisher Vining, associate director of the Extension Division of UNC, in 1929. In 1933 her husband was killed in a New York City automobile accident, in which Mrs. Vining was severely injured. During her convalescence, she converted to the Quaker faith.

From 1946 to 1950, during the Allied occupation of Japan after WWII, Mrs. Vining was selected by Emporer Hirohito to tutor the Crown Prince Akihito, heir to the throne, in conversational English, as well as Western culture. She also lectured at Japanese colleges and universities. For her work, she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, third class.

Mrs. Vining passed away on November 27, 1999 at the age of 97. She had written over 60 fiction and nonfiction books in her lifetime, and was awarded the 1943 Newberry Medal for her children's book "Adam of the Road".

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gray_Vining