Allan Wesley Eckert (January 30, 1931 – July 7, 2011)[1] was an American novelist and playwright who specialized in historical novels for adults and children, and was also a naturalist.
A runner-up for the Newbery Medal, it was afterward marketed as a children's novel and adapted by Disney for a television movie known as The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975).
In 1996, one of them was adapted for the stage as 1913: The Great Dayton Flood and premiered at Wright State University, also being produced at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Eckert published numerous novels of the Ohio Country frontier in what was called his "The Winning of America" series, including accounts of frontiersmen and notable Native Americans, such as Tecumseh.
In a 1999 poll conducted by the Ohioana Library Association, Eckert shared with Toni Morrison the accolade of "Favorite Ohio Writer of All Time."
The production eventually closed due to financial difficulties, but it was estimated to have generated more than nine million dollars yearly into the local economy of southwest Ohio.
It was performed at Wright State University, featuring recorded narration by actors Martin Sheen, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.