DOCUMENT RESUME ED 454 140 SO 032 850 AUTHOR Abbey, Cherie D., Ed. TITLE Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers. Author Series, Volume 9. ISBN ISBN-0-7808-0462-7 PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 216p.; For related volumes in the Author Series, see ED 390 725, ED 434 064, ED 446 010, and ED 448 069. AVAILABLE FROM Omnigraphics, Inc., 615 Griswold Street, Detroit, MI 48226; Tel: 800-234-1340 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.omnigraphics.com/. PUB TYPE Books (010)-- Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescent Literature; *Authors; Biographies; *Childrens Literature; Elementary Secondary Education; Language Arts; Popular Culture; Profiles; Student Interests; Supplementary Reading Materials IDENTIFIERS *Biodata ABSTRACT This book presents biographical profiles of 10 authors of interest to readers ages 9 and above and was created to appeal to young readers in a format they can enjoy and readily understand. Biographies were prepared after extensive research, and each volume contains a cumulative index, a general index, a place of birth index, and a birthday index. Each profile provides at least one picture of the individual and information on birth, youth, early memories, education, first jobs, marriage and family, career highlights, memorable experiences, hobbies, and honors and awards. All entries end with a list of easily accessible sources designed to lead the student to further reading on the individual. Obituary entries are also included, written to provide a perspective on the individual's entire career. Obituaries are clearly marked in both the table of contents and at the beginning of the entry. The following authors appear in Volume 9: Robb Armstrong (1962-); Cherie Bennett (1960-); Bruce Coville (1950-); Rosa Guy (1925-); Harper Lee (1926-); Irene Gut Opdyke (1922-); Philip Pullman (1946-); Jon Scieszka (1954-); Amy Tan (1952-); and Joss Whedon (1965-). (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS Joss Whedon BEEN GRANTED BY U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement tjr(e..LE111, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) il(Thisdocument has been reproduced as ,APrif received from the person or organization originating it TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Minor changes have been made to INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 improve reproduction quality _AM Points of view or opinions stated in this BESTCOPYAVAltABLE document do not necessarily represent AMM:Ir4=2=7"-Iofficial OERI position or policy Related Biography Titles from Omnigraphics Biography Today AUTHOR SERIES "A useful tool for children's assign- General Series ment needs."School Library Journal Provides entries on a wide variety of pop- "The prose is workmanlike: report ular personalities. (For ages 9 and above). writers will find enough detail to begin Available as a 3-issue subscription; hard- sound investigations, and browsers are bound annual cumulation; or subsciption, likely to find someone of interest." plus hardbound cumulation. School Library Journal "Biography Today will be useful in ele- mentary and middle school libraries SCIENTISTS & INVENTORS SERIES and in public library children's collec- tions where there is a need for biogra- "The articles are readable, attractively phies of current personalities. High laid out, and touch on important points schools serving reluctant readers may that will suit assignment needs. Brow- also want to consider a subscription." sers will note the clear writing and in- Book list teresting details." School Library Journal "Written in a friendly, almost chatty "The book is excellent for demonstrat- tone, the profiles offer quick, objective ing that scientists are real people with information. While coverage of current widely diverse backgrounds and per- figures makes Biography Today a useful sonal interests. The biographies are reference tool, an appealing format fascinating to read." and wide scope make it a fun resource The Science Teacher to browse." School Library Journal SPORTS SERIES Biography Today "This series should become a stan- Subject Series dard resource in libraries that serve intermediate students." Expands and complements the General School Library Journal Series, but does not duplicate any of the entries includes profiles of individuals within specific subject areas. (For ages 9 WORLD LEADERS SERIES and above) Available as individual hard- Environmental Leaders bound volumes (most published annually) "A tremendous book that fills a gap in Individual Subject Series include: the biographical category of books. Artists Series This is a great reference book." Science Scope Author Series Scientists & Inventors Series Modern African Leaders "Recommended reference source." Sports Series Booklist World Leaders Series BiographyProfiles of People of Interest to Young To dayReaders Author Series Volume 9 Cherie D. Abbey Editor Omnirabias 615 Griswold streetDetroit, Michigan 48226 4 Cherie D. Abbey, Editor Sheila Fitzgerald, Kevin Hi le, and Sue Ellen Thompson, Staff Writers Barry Puckett, Research Associate Allison A. Jones, Research Assistant Omnigraphics, Inc. * * * Peter E. Ruffner, Senior Vice President Matthew P. Barbour, Vice President Operations Jane J. Steele, Marketing Coordinator Kevin Hayes, Production Coordinator ** * Frederick G. Ruffner, Jr., Publisher Copyright2001 Omnigraphics, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho- tography, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 0-7808-0462-7 The information in this publication was compiled from the sources cited and from other sources considered reliable. While every possible effort has been made to ensure reliability, the publisher will not assume liability for damages caused by inaccuracies in the data, and makes no warranty, express or im- plied, on the accuracy of the information contained herein. This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the ANSI Z39.48 Standard. The infinity symbol that appears above indicates that the paper in this book meets that standard. Printed in the United States Contents Preface 5 Robb Armstrong 1962- 9 American Cartoonist and Author, Creator of the "Jump Start" Comic Strip Cherie Bennett 1960- 21 American Novelist, Playwright, and Advice Columnist; Creator of the Teen Novel Series "Sunset Island," "Teen Angels," and "Trash"; and Author of Life in the Fat Lane and Anne Frank and Me Bruce Coville 1950- 40 American Writer of Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Children and Young Adults, Author of the My Teacher Is an Alien Series, the I Was a Sixth Grade Alien Series, and the Unicorn Chronicles Rosa Guy 1925- 55 American Novelist and Fiction Writer for Young Adults, Author of the Harlem Trilogy and the Imamu Jones Trilogy Harper Lee 1926- 70 American Novelist, Author of To Kill a Mockingbird Irene Gut Opdyke 1922- 82 Polish-American Holocaust Rescuer, Author of Memoirs about Her Bold Actions to Save Jews during World War II Philip Pullman 1946- 93 English Writer of Fantasy Books for Children and Young Adults, Author of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass 3 Jon Scieszka 1954- 110 American Writer for Children, Author of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Math Curse, and the "Time Warp Trio" Books Amy Tan 1952- 124 American Writer, Author of The Joy Luck Club Joss Whedon 1965- 144 American Movie and Television Writer, Director, Producer, and Creator of the Hit Television Series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" Photo and Illustration Credits 157 How to Use the Cumulative Index 159 General Index 161 (Includes Names, Occupations, Nationalities, and Ethnic and Minority Origins) Places of Birth Index 191 Birthday Index 201 (By Month and Day) The Biography Today Library 209 Preface Welcome to the ninth volume of the Biography Today Author Series. We are publishing this series in response to suggestions from ourreaders, who want more coverage of more people in Biography Today. Several volumes, covering Artists, Authors, Scientists and Inventors, Sports Figures, and World Leaders, have appeared thus far in the Subject Series. Each of these hardcover volumes is 200 pages in length and covers approximately 10 indi- viduals of interest to readers ages 9 and above. The length and format of the entries are like those found in the regular issues of Biography Today, but there is no duplication between the regular series and the special subject volumes. The Plan of the Work As with the regular issues of Biography Today, this special subject volume on Authors was especially created to appeal to young readers in a format they can enjoy reading and readily understand. Each volume contains alphabeti- cally arranged sketches. Each entry provides at least one picture of the indi- vidual profiled, and bold-faced rubrics lead the reader to information on birth, youth, early memories, education, first jobs, marriage and family, career highlights, memorable experiences, hobbies, and honors and awards. Each of the entries ends with a list of easily accessible sources designed to lead the student to further reading on the individual and a current address. Obituary entries are also included, written to provide a perspective on the individual's entire career. Obituaries are clearly marked in both the table of contents and at the beginning of the entry. Biographies are prepared by Omnigraphics editors after extensive research, utilizing the most current materials available. Those sources that are general- ly available to students appear in the list of further reading at the end of the sketch. Indexes A new index now appears in all Biography Today publications. In an effort to make the index easier to use, we have combined the Name and General Index into one, called the General Index. This new index contains the names of all individuals who have appeared in Biography Today sincethe se- ries began. The names appear in bold faced type, followed by the issue in which they appeared.