Wendelin Van Draanen

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Wendelin Van Draanen (born January 6, Chicago, Illinois) is an American author of children's books. She lives in California with her husband and two sons. The daughter of chemists who emigrated to the United States from Holland, she worked as a math teacher and then as a high school computer science teacher before becoming a full-time writer. Her books feature spunky lead characters and very real classroom dialogue. Van Draanen is probably best-known for her Sammy Keyes series of novels, featuring a teenage detective named Samantha ("Sammy") Keyes. Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief won the 1999 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. In 2004-2005 Van Draanen wrote a four-book series for younger readers called Shredderman, about a 5th grade boy who assumes a secret identity to help him win the battle for truth and justice. These two series manage to be character driven and very funny while featuring fast-paced plots. Van Draanen also wrote the standalone teen romance Flipped in a he-said she-said style with the two protagonists alternately presenting their perspective on a shared set of events. Her latest book, Runaway, is about a girl named Holly who tries to escape from her latest foster home. The 11th book of the Sammy Keyes series should be released in the summer of 2007.

[edit] Shredderman

  • Shredderman 1: Secret Identity (2004)
  • Shredderman 2: Attack of the Tagger (2004)
  • Shredderman 3: Meet the Gecko (2005)
  • Shredderman 4: Enemy Spy (2005)
  • Shredderman 5: Bubba's Back (20??)

[edit] Sammy Keyes series

  • Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (1998) (1999 Edgar Award, Best Juvenile)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man (1998)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy (1999)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf (1999)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary (2000) (2001 Edgar Award nominee, Best Juvenile)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy (2001)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake-Eyes (2002) (2003 Edgar Award nominee, Best Juvenile)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception (2003) (2004 Edgar Award nominee, Best Juvenile)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen (2004)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway (2005)
  • Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things (2007)

Wendelin's mom taught her to read at a young age so that she could like books. She has very good memories about her dad reading to her and her sibilings at theirbedtime. When she was younger she liked series books, she especially liked the mystery series books!

[edit] References

  • "Spring Attractions: Children's Authors Talk about New Projects and What's on the Horizon". (April 1, 2002). Publisher's Weekly, pp. 24-26
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