AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

Learning about an author's life can give a reader greater insight into the reasons for which that author created the characters, themes, plot and setting in a particular work. With this insight, the reader can enjoy a greater understanding of the author's writing. Visit the links below to learn more about the author you selected as your research subject.

BIOGRAPHY RESOURCE CENTER (Start your research here!)
http://www.nmrls.org
This outstanding database features biographical information about more than 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. More than 400,000 biographies are included from 90 highly regarded Gale Group publications. (To access this database, you will need to use your public library barcode.)

NoveList
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews and other information, to the database each year. (Stop by the IMC to obtain the User ID and Password you'll need to use this database.)

AUTHOR WEB SITES (Are you unable to find the author you selected in the list below? Please let Mrs. O'Keefe know, and she will add your author to it.)

Avi
Avi (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Gennifer Choldenko

Andrew Clements
Meet Authors and Illustrators: Andrew Clements

Robert Cormier
Robert Cormier (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Paula Danziger
Paula Danziger (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Lois Duncan
Author Profile: Lois Duncan (from teenreads.com)

Eleanor Estes
Eleanor Estes (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Jean Craighead George
Jean Craighead George (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Julie Hearn

Karen Hesse
Karen Hesse (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Ron Jones

Harold Keith

Jean Lee Latham

Jack London
Jack London (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Earl Manigault (Earl Manigault is the subject of the book Double Dunk: the story of Earl "The Goat" Manigault, by Barry Beckham)

Walter Dean Myers (from teenreads.com)

John Neufeld

O.T. Nelson

Scott O'Dell
The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is given "to a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults." O'Dell established the annual award of $5,000.00 to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction.
Scott O'Dell (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Gary Paulsen
Gary Paulsen (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Ann Rinaldi
Ann Rinaldi (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Jerry Spinelli
Jerry Spinelli (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Laurie Faria Stolarz

John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck (from The National Steinbeck Center)

Cynthia Voigt
Cynthia Voigt (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Paul Zindel

MORE RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Alex Awards
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/alexawards/alexawards.htm
The Alex Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Best Books for Young Adults
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/booksyoung.htm
Best Books for Young Adults include "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.htm
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
http://www.carolhurst.com
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for readers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/srrt/corettascottking/corettascott.htm
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."

Guys Read
http://www.guysread.com
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/margaretaedwards/margaretedwards.htm
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

New York Public Library: Teenlink
http://teenlink.nypl.org
Look for the "New! On the Shelf" link on this page for suggestions on great new books to read. (This page is loaded with links to other terrific resources, too.)

The Newbery Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Services to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

The Printz Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz
The Michael L. Printz award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."