Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mod 5 997 - The Lowdown On Authors
Mod 5 997 - The Lowdown On Authors
Tracey Hill Tui T. Sutherland 1. Tui is named after a very noisy New
Zealand bird.
2. Has the same birthday as Harry
Potter, July 31st!
3. Loves to work in her pyjamas and with
a puppy!
The Lowdown on Authors
Tracey Hill Mo Willems 1. Mo started drawing cartoons when he was
only 3 years old and in high school drew
comic strips for the school newspaper.
2. Studied animation at University
3. Used to write for the TV program Sesame
Street
Anne Grimm Alan Gratz 1. #1 New York Times best selling author of
seventeen novels for young readers
2. His novel Refugee is the winner of 14 state
awards
3. He has traveled to schools and book festivals in
39 states and half a dozen countries to talk about
his books.
Anne Grimm Kate DiCamillo 1. She writes for both adults and children and
thinks of herself as a storyteller.
2. She has been awarded the Newbery
medal for Flora and Ulysses and The Tale of
Despereaux (among other awards).
3. She gets her ideas from listening and
looking and eavesdropping and imaging.
Annie Zurrer Carol Anne Shaw ● Local author of children’s books who
lives in the Cowichan Valley on
Vancouver Island (where we live!)
The Lowdown on Authors
● Huge animal lover who spends more
time at parties with dogs than people
● Once a high school art teacher
Annie Zurrer Kazu Kibuishi ● New York Times best selling author
and illustrator of popular graphic novel
series Amulet
● Shares “behind the scenes” videos
and “how to” videos creating art for
the books
● Answers questions from his readers
by email
Tara Van Essen Oliver Jeffers - Northern Irish artist, illustrator and
writer
The Lowdown on Authors
- Puts on art exhibits of his work
- Has his own website called “Stay at
Home Story Time”. Features many
great children’s books!
https://www.oliverjeffers.com/abookad
ay
Jasmine Sanghera Rachel Renée Russell - Main Character Nikki is named after
her youngest daughter and is a
combination of herself and her two
daughters’ personalities.
- Her book series is based on real-life
experiences of her and her two
daughters’ middle school years.
- She wrote and illustrated her first
book in 6th grade as a birthday
present for her brothers.
Dee Singh Jory John ● He does not only write picture books,
but chapter books as well such as
The Terrible Two
● He used to work at a non-profit writing
centre in San Francisco
● His books have been mentioned in
the show Jeopardy!
Ashley Kelly Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the ● Self-described “cupcake addict, and
Lost Cities series) general shenanigan causer”
● Originally aspired to become a Disney
animator
● Went to school to study Cinematic
Arts and become a screenwriter only
to realize she preferred to watch
movies than create them
● The first published version of Keeper
of the Lost Cities was draft #20 and
was published 4 years after she first
The Lowdown on Authors
came up with the idea
Ashley Kelly Tracey West (Dragon Masters series) ● Pokemon books were some of her
first before Scholastic picked up her
first original series “Pixie Tricks”
● Loves writing books based on movies,
cartoons, and video games (LEGO
Ninjago, Adventure Time, etc.)
● Has written for other series including
Heroes in Training and sometimes
under pseudonyms - including Coco
Simon (Cupcake Diaries)
● Sister Katherine Noll is also an author
Ashley Kelly Jerry Pallotta (Who Would Win? ● Grew up in Massachusetts and spent
series) a lot of time at the beach and on the
water with his 72 cousins
● Has written over 90 books over the
past 30+ years
● Many of his books are tied to the
ocean/water and the creatures that
live there
Ashley Kelly Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton ● They have collaborated on over 30
(Illustrator) 13 Story Treehouse and books since their first publication in
others 1997
● Andy’s favourite authors are Dr
Seuss, Enid Blyton, and Lewis Carroll
● Five of the Treehouse series books
have been adapted for stage and had
sell-out seasons at the Sydney Opera
house
● Andy is an ambassador for the
The Lowdown on Authors
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
which looks to provide books and
literacy programs to remote
communities and the Pyjama
Foundation which supports youth in
forster care by reading with them,
helping with homework, and generally
trying to help these children reach
their life’s potential despite their
current circumstances.
Christie Rossignol Victoria Kann ● This author is wildly popular with our
younger kids in the annex, and is
known for the Pinkalicious series, in
which she co wrote the first of the
series with her sister.
● She is both the artist and the
illustrator of this series, and has made
a sold out (in the before times)
musical based on the series.
● She also creates artwork for
magazines and newspapers.
Christie Rossignol Mary Pope Osborne ● She is the American author of the
Magic Tree House series of books
which have sold more than 134 million
copies worldwide.
● She grew up moving a lot as a child
because of her father’s career in the
military and she credits all the moves
The Lowdown on Authors
to helping her write the books she has
written.
● She began writing almost by accident
as her first book was an
autobiography based on her travels
and moving as a child.
Jessica Hohner Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (appropriate for teens, not elementary)