Elaine Alphin
Caroline Arnold
Marsha Arnold
Bob Barner
Larry Brimner
Erik Brooks
Susan Casey
Shirley Climo
Judy Cox
Jo Harper
Barbara Kerley
Helen Ketteman
Kirby Larson
Donna Jo Napoli
Mary Nethery
Dorothy Patent
Ann Whitford Paul
P.J. Petersen
Michael Elsohn Ross
Robert San Souci
Pam Service
Sherry Shahan
Ginger Wadsworth
Lee Wardlaw
Natasha Wing |
 Donna Jo Napoli
Web site: www.donnajonapoli.com
“I love to write. I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer, but I’m so lucky that I stumbled across writing. Writing allows me to find out about the world. If I write a story about soccer, I get to go to soccer games for a while. If I write a story about lions, I get to visit the zoo and read about lions for a while and, if I’m extra super lucky, I get to go to Africa (which is what I did when I researched for the book BEAST). Writing is wonderful that way.”
“None of my books are autobiographical. But I often do get my ideas from real life. Something will happen and I will simply elaborate on it and change it and mold it until I have a story that looks new and exciting to me.”
“If you want to be a writer, I have advice for you. Write a lot. And write all kinds of things: poems, stories, essays, recipes, e-mails, letters, journals, anything. The more you write, the better you’ll get at it.”
Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children’s fiction. She received her BA in Mathematics in 1970 and her Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures in 1973, both from Harvard University. She also did a year of postdoctoral study in Linguistics at MIT. She has since taught linguistics at Smith College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Georgetown University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Swarthmore College. It was at UM that she earned tenure,(1981) and became a full professor,(1984). She ha held visiting positions at the University of Queensland ( Australia). Macquarie University ( Australia), the University of Witwatersrand ( South Africa), and the University of Stellenbosch ( South Africa).
Her books have been translated into Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Farsi, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and will be in Thai soon.
Her writing ranges from contemporary fiction to fantasy to historical novels. She also writes mathematics tales and science tales as well as writing books geared towards helping deaf people learn to read. She enjoys encouraging new writers and meeting the challenges of literacy.
Napoli currently lives outside Philadelphia. She has five children and a cat named Taxi. She loves to garden and bake bread. She takes yoga and modern dance courses and sometimes dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist.
Donna Jo Napoli has written many books geared toward early readers, elementary and middle school kids as well as young adults. These include,
- The Hero of Barletta, 1988
- Albert, 2001 Winner of Kentucky Bluegrass Award,American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists, Children’s Book Sense 76 List, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books AWARD, Los Angeles Times Best Book Award, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best Children’s Book Award, a Starred Review from Publisher’s weekly, a Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRRY JOURNAL, boxed review BOOKLIST, New York Public Library Children’s Books 2001 Award, New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books 2001Award, Bookbuilders West Annual Award, nominated Arizona Young Readers Award, nominated South Dakota Prairie Bud Award, Hicklebee’s Selection, Renaissance Learning recommended list
- How Hungry Are You? 2001 (mathematics tale) Received a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly
- Soccer Shock, 1991 Winner of the Hall of Fame Sports Books for Kids 1996 award, the Philadelphia Children’s Reading Round Table award, nominated Nutmeg Book Award
- Prince of the Pond, 1991 Winner of the New Jersey Reading Association’s M. Jerry Weiss Book Award 1997, received the School Library Journal One of the Funniest Children’s Book for the 90’s Award, nominated for Kansas Reading Circle, received 100 Best Children’s Books 1992 of New York Public Library Award, Outstanding Merit, Bank Street Child Study CBC, received a Starred Review from KIRKUS, and a Starred Review from BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS, nominated Nutmeg Children’s Book award, received Pennsylvania’s Young Readers Choice Award Program, nominated Colorado Children’s Book Award, and the Philadelphia’s Children Book of the Month Award
- The Bravest Thing, 1995 on the Renaissance Learning recommended List
- Spinners, 1999Winner of the Junior Library Guild, boxed review BOOKLIST, New York Public Library Books for the Teenage Award, the Pennsylvania Library Association Carolyn W. Field Honor Book Award, and the South Carolina Book Award Master List
- Crazy Jack , 1999 Winner of the Junior Library Guild, Smithsonian’s Notable Books, Starred Review BOOKLIST, Starred Review BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS, Starred review for VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, Tennessee master list for the Volunteer State Book Award, recommended list for Renaissance Learning
- Beast, 2000 Winner of SCHOOL OF LIBRARY JOURNAL’S Best Books, Junior Library Guild, VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES “Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Finalist for the 2001 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature, Starred review for SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred review for KIRKUS
|
