Author Explorers
Meet the Authors!
Eve Bunting
-Born on December 19, 1928 in Ireland. She grew up listening to a lot of storytelling. Shanachies were storytellers who went from house to house telling tales of ghosts, fairies, Irish heroes, and Irish battles.
-In 1958 she moved to California with her husband and three children
-Enrolled in a writing class at a junior college and soon after had first book published. Book was called The Two Giants and was an Irish folktale about Finn who outsmarts a terrible giant, Culcullan.
-She writes books on a variety of topics and for a variety of ages. Total she has published 250 books.
-Favorite type of book to write is picture books. To Eve it is fun to write a story in a few simple words.
-She has taught writing classes
-Currently lives in Pasadena, California
Kevin Henkes
-Born on November 27, 1960 in Racine, Wisconsin.
-Growing up his dad was a mailman and his mom a homemaker. He has three brothers and a sister.
-Loved to read and he would often reread his favorite books. He took books everywhere he went. His favorite book when he was little was Is That You by Ruth Krauss. He remembered he tried to copy Johnson’s pictures.
-Kevin remembered drawing from an early age. Parents and teachers told him that he was good and it made him love it even more.
-At age 19 became an author-illustrator when he flew from his home in Racine, Wisconsin to New York City to find a publisher to publish his books. Found publisher at Greenwillow Books.
-First picture book was All Alone and was published in 1981. It is about the joys of spending time alone. Took him eight tries before he got it right.
-His most popular character is Lily. She first appeared in Chester’s Way, then Julius the Baby of the World, and finally Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse.
-He gets his ideas for books from his own childhood memories and from his adult experiences.
-In addition to his everybody books he has also written chapter books. They tend to be less humorous and more serious. He has written 23 books in all.
-Now he is married and has a son and daughter. Kevin’s wife is an artist and painted the cover of his book Sun & Spoon.
-Loves his job and would not trade it for anything
Eric Litwin
-Lives in Atlanta, Georgia
-Has 2 Master's Degree in Education
-Used to be a teacher but is now a musician and author
-2008 he published his first book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
-Plays guitar, harmonica, and banjo. He has performed music at Lincoln Center, Woodruff Arts Center, Spivey Hall, Callaway Gardens, and hundreds of schools and libraries.
-He is the co-creator of "Learning Groove" which is a company that offers parent and child music classes.
James Marshall
-Jame's mom and dad were both musical and he had talent. Unfortunately he injured his hand and had to do something else besides music.
-Got a college degree in History and French
-1971 he was lying in a hammock drawing and created characters George and Martha.
-From then on wrote and illustrated children's books. If he just illustrates a book he puts his name down, James Marshall. If he does the text and pictures he uses the name Edward Marshall.
-Died in October 1992 of a brain tumor
Laura Numeroff
-Was born on July 4, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York and was raised there.
-Youngest of three girls. Her two older sisters are Alice and Emily.
-Dad worked on art staff for a paper and mom was a Home Economics teacher. So Laura was exposed to a lot of reading, singing, dancing, and science.
- -Favorite possessions were a microscope, box of 64 crayons, and her library card
-Favorite books as a child were The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, Stuart Little by E.B. White, Eloise, and Misty of Chincoteague.
-At the age of nine started writing stories and drawing pictures to go along with them. That is when Laura realized she wanted to be a writer.
-Started college working towards a degree in fashion but fell in love with a writing class called Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books.
-First book she wrote in that college class was called Amy for Short about the tallest girl in third grade. She went to four different publishers before somebody agreed to publish the book.
-For Laura to continue to write books she supported herself by working as a receptionist, secretary, and waitress.
-On a long, boring car trip she was being silly and asked her friend “What if you gave a mouse a cookie?” Her imagination turned into a picture book. She sent the book to eight publishers before somebody agreed to publish it.
-She has written a total of 31 books and her books have been translated in many different languages for children to enjoy.
-Her most popular books are ones that are about giving an animal something. They include: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Take a Mouse to School, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, and If You Give a Pig a Party.
Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss
-Born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts
-Mother often told him rhymes when he was a kid. Theodor had a wild imagination and was always drawing strange-looking people and animals that made people laugh
-1925-Attended Oxford University in England to get doctorate in Literature
-1927-Married Helen Palmer
-Worked in advertising for 15 years but did not truly enjoy it
-First book And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street came from listening to many sounds of ship’s engine and began imagining a parade. Took the book to 43 publishers before someone agreed to publish it.
-Wrote adult book Seven Lady Godivas but was not popular
-Geisel was given a list of 250 words that experts believed first graders should absorb. He used 220 words in the book The Cat in the Hat.
-Geisel and his wife started the Beginner Books Division of Random House Publishing which provide simple books for kids to read.
-A publisher challenged him to use only 50 words in a book and said he would pay him $50 if he could do it. The book he created was Green Eggs and Ham and it was a very popular book.
-The Lorax was written because Theodor was bothered with the damage being done to the earth, water, and air.
-September 24, 1991 died of throat cancer.
-Random House created Dr. Seuss Picture Book Award that gives a publishing contract to first time author/illustrators
-His books are still very popular today
Laura Ingalls Wilder
-Was born in February 7, 1867 on a farm near Pepin, Wisconsin. She had an older sister named Mary and two younger sisters named Carrie and Grace.
-1869 her family moved from Wisconsin to Missouri for a short period before moving to Kansas, 1874 moves to Minnesota, 1876 moves to Iowa, 1878 moves back to Minnesota. Her father was a carpetner who built their home and furniture. She came to realize that a a home is simply where your family is at that time.
-In 1883 Laura began teaching at the Bouchie School.
-In 1885 Laura marries Almanzo Wilder.
-In 1886 they had a daughter named Rose. They faced many problems though—drought, storms, and grasshoppers destroyed their crops, their house burned down, and Laura and Almanzo caught diphtheria which left Almanzo cripped. Moved to Florida hoping to help Almanzo’s health but ended up moving to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894. They called it Rocky Ridge Farm and lived there the rest of their days.
-Laura simply wrote about her life in the pioneer times. She wanted to preserve the times she lived in and give others an idea of what it was like.
-Started writing "Little House" book series in 1932 to describe the pioneer times. She was 65 years old when she started writing.
-Her books were very popular and printed in over 40 languages
- -She died in 1957 at the age of 90.
Mo Willems
-Born on February 11, 1968 and was raised in New Orleans.
-He married Cheryl Camp in 1997
-He went to a college to study art called Tisch School of Art located in New York. After graduating he traveled for a year drawing a carton everyday and they were later published in a book called You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons.
-Started out working as a writer for Seasame Street from 1993 to 2002 where he earned six emmies for his writing. He also did stand up comedy on the side.
-Created two animated series for TV: Nickleodeon's Off-Beats and Carton Network's Sheep in the City
-Also worked as a writer for Codename Kid's Next Door
-First book written was Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! which earned him a Caldecott Honor in 2004
-Won 2 more Caldecott Medals--One medal for Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and Knuffle Bunny: a Case of Mistaken Identity.
-His Elephant and Piggie book series are for younger readers and have received the Thedor Seuss Geisel Medal in 2008 and 2009 and Honor in 2011.