Jean Fritz - About the Author
Jean Fritz, author of informal historical biographies for children, has been writing for nearly four decades. Such engaging titles as And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?, Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!, and What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? have been widely acclaimed as "unconventional", "witty", "good-humored", and "extraordinary".
Born in 1915 to missionary parents, Fritz lived the first thirteen hears of her life in China where she wondered what it was like to be an American. Her own history is explored in Homesick: My Own Story, for which she won a Newbery Honor Medal in 1983.
"The question I am most often asked," Fritz says, "is how do I find my ideas? The answer is: I don't. Ideas find me. A character in history will suddenly step right out of the past and demand a book. Generally people don't bother to speak to me unless there's a good chance that I'll take them on."
In her role as biographer, Jean Fritz attempts to uncover the adventures and personalities behind each character she researches. "Once my character and I have reached an understanding," she explains, "then I begin the detective work-reading old books, old letters, old newspapers, and visiting the places where my subject lived. Often I turn up surprises and of course I pass these on." It is her penchant for making distant historical figures seem real that brings the characters to life and makes the biographies entertaining, informative, and filled with natural child appeal.
Jean Fritz was awarded the Regina Medal by the Catholic Library Association, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award by the American Library Association, and honored with the Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature, presented by the New York State Library Association for her body of work.
-- Courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons.
