Author of over 400 Books for Children and Adults
I had lived in the Connecticut River Valley for a number of years, and had known (and visited) that lovely created wilderness, the Quabbin Reservoir. But I hadn’t known the human story behind it until the local newspaper did an article. It seems that in the late ’30s, the people of the Swift River Valley towns had sold
I was asked to write a storybook about the mythical flight of Daedelus and Icarus for illustrator Susan Gallagher (also known as S. Selig.) But once I’d actually told the story and the book was accepted, she was no longer interested in the project. She later illustrated the book of adult poems Nancy Willard and I did
This mammoth collection of stories, songs, poems–and information–about Christmas is defined by its brilliant dePaola pictures. I think it is among the best work Tomie has ever done! Adam and I wrote two new Christmas songs for the book and he arranged a number of popular Christmas carols as well.
This is based on something that actually happened when my father came home wounded from World War II. My mother, baby brother, and I lived with her parents for two and a half years (see also the book MIZ BERLIN WALKS and the short story “The Long Closet.”) When my father returned from London
This original folk tale uses both the Piegan mythic stories about how the horse came to the Piegan (Blackfeet) people and also some historical matter. There are full notes on the last page. It is always tricky business, writing in another culture. I heard that one Native spokesman said that “She has an authentic voice.”
Because we are a family of bird watchers, and because I have many opportunities to see my husband David (the original Pa from OWL MOON) interact with birds, children, and other birders, this book of poems came about. Some are celebratory, some are sad, some are observations. One poem
This was written as a companion to THREE BEARS RHYME BOOK, using the same characters, but instead of rhyme, this book is told in prose. Baby Bear, determined not to go to bed, cons his babysitter Goldie into telling him story after story. Each story she tells is connected visually to one of his toys. In the end
This alphabet book stars elves doing a variety of activities. Illustrator Lauren Mills was one of my students at Centrum and I always loved her perfect miniaturist style. When she moved from California east and married Dennis Nolan, another wonderful illustrator, I wrote this book just for her.
I have always loved the Scottish border ballad Tam Lin, first mentioned in a ballad book of 1549. It’s one of the only ones (maybe THE only one) in which the woman does the rescuing. Young Janet McKenzie (in my version) wants to have her patrimony–the old mansion of Carterhaugh–but it now belongs to the fairies.
When they were little, my boys both loved dinosaurs so much, I embroidered dinosaur pillows for them. (I am NOT good at needlework.) When they were teenagers, I wrote this book. Go figure! The poems range from a dinosaur rock-and-roll band to a dinosaur waltz to a dinosaur square dance.