Editing Karen Hesse

{{short description|American writer}}
{{Infobox writer  <!--For more information, see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]].-->
| name = Karen Hesse
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| caption = Hesse in 2002
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| birth_date =  {{birth date and age|1952|08|29}}
| birth_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]]
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| education = [[Towson State College]] 
| alma_mater = [[University of Maryland, College Park]]
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| spouse =   Randy Hesse
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| awards = [[Newbery Medal]];<br />[[MacArthur Fellow]]
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'''Karen S. Hesse''' (born August 29, 1952) is an American author of [[children's literature]] and [[Young adult literature|literature for young adults]], often with [[historical fiction|historical]] settings.<ref name=CLN/> She received the [[Newbery Medal]] for ''Out of the Dust'' (1997).

==Early years and education==
Karen Hesse <!--sources are LCCN, GND footer links--> was born in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. She studied at nearby [[Towson State College]] and married Randy Hesse in 1971 before completing her studies.<ref name=EPA/>  She attended college at Towson State College and the University of Maryland. She earned a B.A. in English with double minors in [[psychology]], and [[anthropology]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/karen-hesse|title=Karen Hesse Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level - Scholastic|website=www.scholastic.com}}</ref> during which she began publishing poetry.

==Career==
After graduating, she moved with her husband to [[Brattleboro, Vermont]], had two children, Rachel and Kate, took jobs in publishing, and started writing children's books.

Her first novel was a rejected story about meeting [[Bigfoot]], but her next proposal was published by Henry Holt in 1991 as ''Wish on a Unicorn''.<ref name=EPA/>

''[[Out of the Dust]]'' is a story of a girl living through the dust bowl of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Depression]].  The mother of the central character dies giving birth to her stillborn brother Franklin.  After the mother dies, Billie Jo and her father try to continue with their lives.

Hesse tackled a more disturbing subject in the 2001 verse novel ''[[Witness (Karen Hesse novel)|Witness]]''. The [[Ku Klux Klan]], re-invigorated in the 1920s (in this book, 1924 and '25) tries to take over a small Vermont town. The book is written from the perspectives of several people -  Merlin Van Tornhout and Johnny Reeves, both members of the Klan; Sara Chickering, a farmer; Esther Hirsh, a six-year-old Jewish girl; Leonora Sutter, an African American girl; Iris Weaver, a restaurateur; Harvey and Viola Pettibone, shop owners; Reynard Alexander, a newspaper editor; Fitzgerald Flitt, the doctor; and Percelle Johnson, the town constable. In ''Witness'' Hesse continued the distinctive poetic/prose style she pioneered in ''Out of the Dust''.

Hesse also wrote ''[[The Music of Dolphins]]'', about a girl who was raised by [[dolphins]].

''Stowaway'', first published in 2000 by Simon & Schuster USA, is based on the true story of an 11-year-old boy who stowed away on Captain [[James Cook]]'s ship ''Endeavour'' in 1768. The UK version of this book is published under the title ''Young Nick's Head''. It is in the format of a diary written by Nicholas Young, the cabin boy on the ''Endeavour''.

''Brooklyn Bridge'' is based on the true story of the family who created the teddy bear in Brooklyn in 1903.

At age 68 years, she was living with her husband, still in [[Brattleboro, Vermont]].

==Awards==
Hesse was a [[MacArthur Fellow]] in 2002.

For ''[[Out of the Dust]]'' (Scholastic, 1997), she won the [[Newbery Medal]] from the [[American Library Association]], recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", and the annual [[Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction]].

''[[Letters from Rifka]]'' (MacMillan, 1992) won an [[International Reading Association Award]] and a [[National Jewish Book Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners|title=Past Winners|website=Jewish Book Council|language=en|access-date=2020-01-19}}</ref>

In 2012 Hesse received the [[Phoenix Award]] from the [[Children's Literature Association]] for ''Letters from Rifka'', recognizing the best children's book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award.<ref name="phoenix" />

== Works ==
* 1991, ''Wish on a Unicorn'' (Henry Holt, {{ISBN|978-0-8050-1572-0}}, reprint [https://books.google.com/books?id=XpJo992IVnEC Google Books edition], Macmillan, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-312-37611-6}})
* 1992, ''[[Letters from Rifka]]'' (MacMillan, 1992) (reprint Macmillan, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-312-53561-2}})
* 1993, ''Lester's Dog'', illus. [[Nancy Carpenter]] (Crown, {{ISBN|978-0-517-58357-9}})<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-hesse/lesters-dog/ |title=LESTER'S DOG {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Lester's Dog by Karen Hesse |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780517583579 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=www.publishersweekly.com}}</ref>
* 1993, ''Poppy's Chair'', illus. Kay Life (Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0-02-743705-8}})
* 1994, ''[[Phoenix Rising (novel)|Phoenix Rising]]'' (Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0-8050-3108-9}})
* 1994, ''Sable'', illus. Marcia Sewall (Henry Holt, {{ISBN|9780805024166}}) ([https://books.google.com/books?id=VGPEUMHgB88C Google Books edition], San Val, {{ISBN|978-0-613-08689-9}})
* 1995, ''A Time of Angels'' (Hyperion, {{ISBN|9780786800872}})
* 1995, ''Lavender'', illus. Andrew Glass ([https://books.google.com/books?id=hJo3VSXiIp4C Google Books edition], Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0-8050-4257-3}})
* 1996, ''[[The Music of Dolphins]]'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=yNasmgXw8n4C Google Books edition], Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-590-89797-6}})
* 1997, ''[[Out of the Dust]]'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=QEa0GYO28QIC Google Books edition], Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-590-36080-7}})
* 1998, ''Just Juice'', illus. Robert Andrew Parker ([https://books.google.com/books?id=t_gE_RVcVXYC Google Books edition], Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-590-03383-1}})
* 1999, ''Come on, Rain'', illus. Jon J. Muth (Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-590-33125-8}})
* 1999, ''A Light in the Storm: the Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin'' (Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-439-44557-3}})
* 2000, ''Stowaway'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=D213g2GcONAC Google Books edition], Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN|978-0-689-83987-0}})
* 2001, ''[[Witness (Karen Hesse novel)|Witness]]'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=SR2dZSxXjpoC Google Books edition], Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-439-27200-1}})
* 2003, ''Aleutian Sparrow'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=mFIOa0jO43oC Google Books edition], Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN|978-0-689-86189-5}})
* 2003, ''The Stone Lamp: Eight Stories of Hanukkah through History'', illus. J. Brian Pinkney (Hyperion, {{ISBN|978-0-7868-0619-5}})
* 2004, ''The Cats in Krasinski Square'', illus. Wendy Watson ([https://books.google.com/books?id=Ub4FItKXZIgC Google Books edition]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-439-43540-6}})
* 2005 ''The Young Hans Christian Andersen'' (Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-439-67990-9}})
* 2008, ''Spuds'', illus. Wendy Watson (Scholastic, {{ISBN|978-0-439-87993-4}})
* 2008, ''Brooklyn Bridge'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=SKr7WGp4GTMC Google Books edition], Macmillan, {{ISBN|978-0-312-37886-8}})
* 2011, "Nell" — a short story included in the young-adult anthology ''What You Wish For'' (Putnam, {{ISBN|978-0-399-25454-3}}) (also available on [http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/09/nell Tor.com])
* 2012, ''Safekeeping'' (Feiwel & Friends, {{ISBN|9781250011343}})
*2016, ''My Thumb'' (Feiwel & Friends, {{ISBN|978-0-312-67120-4}})
*2018, "Night Job" (Candlewick Press), {{ISBN|978-0763662387}})
*2022, "Granny and Bean" (Candlewick Press){{ISBN|9781536214048}})

==See also==
{{Portal bar |Children's literature}} <!-- delete "bar" when there are about two ordinary See also -->

==References==
{{Reflist |refs=
<ref name=phoenix>[http://www.childlitassn.org/images/resources/resources-Children-squo-s_Lit_-_Phoenix_Award_Brochure_2012.pdf "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012"]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. [[Children's Literature Association]]. Retrieved 2013-03-03.<br /> See also the current homepage, [http://www.childlitassn.org/index.php?page=about&family=awards&category=06--Phoenix_Award&display=27 "Phoenix Award"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320175700/http://www.childlitassn.org/index.php?page=about&family=awards&category=06--Phoenix_Award&display=27 |date=2012-03-20 }}.<!-- which features the latest winner --></ref>

<!-- old refs -->
<ref name=CLN>
[http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/aifolder/aipages/ai_h/hesse.php "Karen Hesse"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313042642/http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/aifolder/aipages/ai_h/hesse.php |date=2013-03-13 }}. Children's Literature Network. Retrieved 2013-03-03.</ref>
<ref name=EPA>{{cite web |url=http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=56 |title= Educational Paperback Association|website=www.edupaperback.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213633/http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=56 |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref>
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160113121702/http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-hesse-karen.asp Autobiography and interview with Karen Hesse] at KidsReads <!-- i find only the capsule Biog and incomplete Bibliog www.kidsreads.com/authors/karen-hesse -->

}}

==External links==
* {{official website }}— Karen Hesse Blog: snapshots of a writer's life
* {{isfdb name |5663 |Karen Hesse}}
* [http://us.macmillan.com/author/karenhesse Karen Hesse at Macmillan US]
* [http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/karen-hesse Karen Hesse at Scholastic Teachers]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse, Karen}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women children's writers]]
[[Category:American children's writers]]
[[Category:Newbery Medal winners]]
[[Category:Writers from Brattleboro, Vermont]]
[[Category:Writers from Vermont]]
[[Category:Writers from Baltimore]]
[[Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni]]
[[Category:Towson University alumni]]
[[Category:MacArthur Fellows]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]