Carolyn Coman
Carolyn Coman (born October 28, 1951)[1][2] is an American writer best known for children's books. Her novels What Jamie Saw (1995) and Many Stones (2000) were among the runners-up for major annual awards by the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Book Foundation.
Coman was born in Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago.[1][2] She worked as a bookbinder 1975-84 and later as an editor with Heinemann before she became a full-time writer.[1] She edited Body and Soul, a photo-portrait documentary by Judy Dater, and wrote the text of a children's picture book, prior to completing four young-adult novels from 1993 to 2000. Her novels for middle-grade readers (2004 and 2007) combine humour, investigation and a sense of nostalgia.
In the YA novels, "She explores the darker sides of growing up: dealing with parent's abandonment through death in Tell Me Everything, abuse by a stepparent in What Jamie Saw, sibling incest in Bee and Jacky and a political-inspired tragedy in Many Stones."[1] Many Stones was inspired by the murder of Amy Biehl.[1]
What Jamie Saw (1995) was Newbery Medal honor book and a National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist. Many Stones (2000) was a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and another National Book Award finalist.[1] (From 1922 the ALA Newbery Medal recognizes the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", with some designated runners-up now called "Honor Books". From 2000 the Newbery and Printz separately recognize books for "children" and "teens".)
Coman has two children and lives in South Hampton, New Hampshire.[3]
Works
- Body and Soul: ten American women, edited by Coman, photographs by Judy Dater (Boston: Hill & Co., 1988), LCCN 87-32696
- Losing Things at Mr. Mudd's, illustrated by Lance Hidy (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992) – picture book
- Tell me Everything (Farrar, 1993)
- What Jamie Saw (Arden, NC: Front Street, 1995)
- Bee and Jacky (Front Street, 1998)
- Many Stones (Front Street, 2000)
- The Big House, illustrated by Rob Shepperson (Front Street, 2004)
- Sneaking Suspicions, illus. Shepperson (Front Street, 2007) – sequel to The Big House
- The Memory Bank, illus. Shepperson (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2010), 288 pp.[2]
- Writing Stories: ideas, exercises, and encouragements for teachers and writers of all ages, illus. Shepperson (Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011), LCCN 2011-7002
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Something about the Author; Vol 197; pp. 32–36. Gale, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4144-2169-8.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Carolyn Comans – Summary Bibliography". ISFDB. Retrieved 2014-09-24. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
- ↑
- "Carolyn Coman". Random House. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
External links
- Interview at Teenreads, January 2000
- Works by Carolyn Coman at Open Library
- Carolyn Coman at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Carolyn Coman at Library of Congress Authorities, with 13 catalog records
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