About The Author
JEAN CRAIGHEAD GEORGE (1919- )
Jean Craighead George is the author of many outstanding books for children, including Julie of the Wolves, which won the Newbery Medal in 1973. My Side of the Mountain, first published in 1959, is a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and a Hans Christian Anderson Award Honor Book.
Jean Craighead George's father was a naturalist and scientist. He taught her the plants and animals of the eastern forests and showed her where the wild edible fruits and tubers grew. On weekends along the Potomac River near Washington D.C., where she was born and grew up, she and her father made rabbit traps. Her brothers are trained falconers and helped her train a falcon. As an elementary-age child, she attempted to run away and live peacefully in the wild, but returned after only forty minutes. Not so her hero, Sam Gribley, of My Side of the Mountain. Many children ask if there is a real Sam Gribley, and her response is "There is no real Sam, except inside me."
Jean carries little spiral notebooks with her on her forays into the natural world. She claims to take notes all the time. An accomplished artist who has illustrated many of her own books, Jean also sketches as she hikes. She calls her first drafts "first runs" in which she gets to know all the people and see how they're moving. She lets the movie run in her head, and then goes back and edits it in later drafts.
Jean feels that children are her audience and she wants to grab them on the first page, if possible, and keep them to the last page. Other outstanding books written by her include: The Summer of the Falcon, The Wounded Wolf, The Talking Earth, One Day in the Prairie, Water Sky, Shark Beneath the Reef, The First Thanksgiving, and On The Far Side of the Mountain; sequel to My Side of the Mountain.
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