Category: Children’s Author Trivia Answers

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Karen Cushman and Paul Yee

Both of our authors today delve into history; one loves the Middle Ages and the other explores the lives of immigrants from China coming to Canada.

62. Our first author is very inspiring to those of who started writing later in life. She started writing when she was 49, and was 53 when her first books was published. She has been pumping out award-winning books for children ever since. One of her books won the Newbery in 1996. She lives in Seattle.

Do you know who she might be?

Karen Cushman is a teacher who dabbled in writing until she became intrigued with the life of a girl in the Middle Ages. She started writing about the girl, fleshing out her life, and before long had the novel Catherine, Called Birdy. Carol Hurst has a nice review and ideas for lessons.

Cushman continued her interest in history with her following novels. In 1996, she won the Newbery for The Midwife’s Apprentice, the story of an orphan who aids a midwife in a medieval English village.

If you enjoy historical fiction, take a look at these books by Karen Cushman:

63. Our second author saw a need for books about immigrants coming to Canada, particularly Chinese immigrants. With a Master’s degree in Canadian history, he has the research skills to write authentic tales. As a third generation Canadian, he knows the challenges immigrants face from experiences in his own family. His book, Ghost Train, won Governor General’s Award for children’s literature in the same year our first author won the Newbery.

Do you recognize this author?

Paul Yee was gaining recognition in Canada the same year Karen Cushman won the Newbery in the United States. He says he writes his historical stories about Chinese immigrants coming to Canada because people forget that that there were immigrants coming from China as long as 150 years ago.

Have you read a book by Paul Yee?

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Michael Morpurgo and Patricia Wrightson

Question 60. Our first author got his start almost by accident. The students in his classes loved the stories he told, so he wrote them down. His discovery has led to over 100 books. His books have won numerous awards and one is that is currently being made into a film by none other than Steven Spielberg.

In addition to being a prolific author, he is also a children’s rights advocate and started the Farms for City Children program that has been active for 30 years.

Do you know who he is?

If you haven’t heard of Michael Morpurgo yet, I’m sure you will soon. His book, War Horse was turned into a play with critically-acclaimed performances in London. It is now being brought to Broadway (March 15, 2011) and made into a film by Steven Spielberg.

In this trailer, you can see the incredible horse “puppets” that are used in the play.

Morpurgo started his career as a teacher. At the school where he taught, he was required to read to the students at the end of each day. One day he realized the children weren’t connecting with the book. His wife suggested he tell them on of his own tales. The students were so excited about his stories that before long he was writing them down and getting them published.

In this video, he gives the details:

Isn’t he still a wonderful storyteller?

Many of his books are still available. I know I will be trying to get my hands on them.

Question 61. Our second author had a lofty goal. She wanted children to be able to read books by Australian authors. Going to the myths and legends of the local people, she then developed stories that were distinctly of the land. Perhaps you’ve heard of The Nargun and the Stars? Her fantasy novels received attention not only in Australia, but throughout the world and in 1986 she won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing.

Do you know who this woman who helped formulate Australian children’s literature might be?

Patricia Wrightson spent most of her life in the North Coast Region of New South Wales. She first started publishing in the 1950’s and her first book won the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year in 1956. Three of her following works also won.

In homage to Wrightson’s pioneering efforts, the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature was named in her honor.

Some of Patricia Wrightson’s books include:

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Virginia Hamilton and Molly Bang

Today we reveal the answers to the Children’s Author Trivia Volume 28.

58. This children’s author broke through a number of barriers in her career. She was the first African-American author to win the Newbery Medal, with M.C. Higgins the Great. She was the first children’s book author to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. She won many awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Do you know who she is?

Virginia Hamilton wrote over 40 award-winning books for children and young adults.

Although she passed away in 2002, Open Road Media is publishing several of her books as e-books, including Cousins, The House of Die’s Drear, Anthony Burns, Zeeley, Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, M.C. Higgins the Great, and The Planet of Junior Brown. They supplied this lovely video about Virginia Hamilton’s inspiring career.

Note:  I do not have an affiliation with Open Road Media.

59. Our second illustrator and author also has had numerous awards, including Caldecott Honors. Her mother had studied medical illustration, but our subject didn’t take up illustration until after trying several other careers, including a degree in French and a reporting stint that ended when she was fired. She started illustrating folktales, and then later she branched out into writing her own stories. Recently this author has been writing science books, and in 2010 one of her children’s picture books won the AAAS/Subaru SB & F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. Any idea who this illustrator and author might be?

Molly Bang‘s Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life won the AAAS/Subaru SB & F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in 2010 (with Penny Chisholm).

More information about books by Molly Bang at Amazon’s author page.

 

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Pat Mora and James Ransome

Our trivia questions from last week featured two children’s authors/ illustrators from the 2010 National Book Festival.

56. Our first author finds time to write when she isn’t busy promoting literacy. Living in New Mexico, her books for children are often bilingual, with themes from the desert and the Southwest. Her grandparents came from Mexico during the early 1900’s and now she works to record the culture of the area. Any ideas who she might be?

Pat Mora is probably best known for her work in creating the literacy initiative El día de los niños/El día de los libros, Children’s Day/Book Day, which will be April 30, 2011.

She tells a bit about how she came to be a children’s author in this video. She reveals her first published books were poetry for adults. Her passion for multicultural books is evident.

A selection of Pat Mora’s books:

57. This illustrator has an incredible story to tell. Growing up in rural North Carolina, his school offered no art classes. He taught himself to draw using the few how-to-draw books he found in the school library and by watching television shows about art and artists. When he moved to New Jersey at the beginning of high school, he finally could take art courses. He went on to obtain a degree in illustration and has become an award-winning illustrator of children’s books. No wonder he is on the Children’s Book Council’s list of seventy-five authors and illustrators everyone should know.

The illustrator who had a passion for art as a child is James Ransome. James illustrates books with many authors, but especially with his wife, Lesa Cline Ransome. He is also an illustrator for the serialized book The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, available at Read.gov.

You can see a video of James Ransome at the National Book Festival.

Don’t forget to take a look at some of his wonderful illustrations. Many of these books would be great selections for Black History month.