Blanche Jennings Thompson (March 16, 1887 – September 20, 1983) was an American editor, children's author and educator who wrote 32 books; her first, Silver Pennies, was very popular and sold over 350,000 copies.

She used phonics to teach children how to read,[1] and advocated for more use of copying at school from an early age, calling it an important "minor language skill".

[3] In the 1920s, Thompson became interested in 20th-century American poets like Sara Teasdale, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Amy Lowell, and Lizette Woodworth Reese.

In 1925, Thompson created a small anthology of poetry for children called Silver Pennies that featured excerpted works of modern poets, with illustrations by Winifred Bromhall.

[1] The American Library Association included Silver Pennies on its list of the hundred best children's books.