About The Author
KAREN HESSE (1952– )
Karen Hesse was born and grew up in Baltimore,Maryland. As a child, she often wrote in her journals. Her fifth grade teacher encouraged her writing and gave Hesse the idea that she could one day become a professional writer. In 1975 she graduatedfrom the University of Maryland. While there, she studied theater, anthropology, psychology, and English.
In 1976 Hesse and her husband settled in Brattleboro, Vermont, where they still live. She joined a writing group and had various jobs including waitress, nanny, librarian, book reviewer, and proofreader. She also raised two daughters.
Hesse’s books have won many awards. Her first book, Wish on a Unicorn, was publishedin 1991 and The Hungry Mind Review selected it as a Children’s Book of Distinction. Letters from Rifka, her second book, won a Christopher Medal and was chosen by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. It was also named an ALA Notable Children’s Book and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Sable was also chosen as a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Phoenix Rising was cited as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Notable Children’s Book, and a SLJ Best Book. The Music of Dolphins was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Out of the Dust won the Newbery Medal and the Scott O’Dell Award in 1998, and was also named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and an ALA Notable Children’s Book. It won honors from Publishers Weekly, the School-Library Journal, and Booklist. Hesse credits her writers group for encouraging her to expand a draft of a picture book into the full-length novel Out of the Dust.
She does extensive research for all of her books. She has been a member and leader of the Southern Vermont chapter of the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators. In 2002 Hesse received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship award, which is often called “the genius award.” According to the School and Library Journal, the Foundation praised Hesse for “expanding the possibilities of literature for children and young adults.” Her books have been translated into Spanish, French, and German.
List of Hesse’s Books:• Wish on a Unicorn, 1991• Just Juice, 1998• Letters from Rifka, 1992• Come On, Rain! 1999• Lavender 1993• A Time of Angels, 2000• Poppy’s Chair, 1993• Witness, 2001• Lester’s Dog, 1993• Young Nick’s Head, 2001• Phoenix Rising, 1994• A Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, 2002• Sable, 1994• Stowaway, 2003• A Time of Angels, 1995• Aleutian Sparrow, 2003• The Music of Dolphins, 1996• The Cats in Krasinski Square, 2004• Out of the Dust, 1997. Witness, 2003
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