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Katherine Hannigan was raised in western New York. She has undergraduate degrees in education and secondary mathematics, and painting. Her graduate degree is in studio art. She has worked as the education coordinator for a Head Start program and, most recently, as an assistant professor of art and design. She is the author of Ida B…and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World, Emmaline and the Bunny, and True (…Sort Of). Ida B was a New York Times and Book Sense bestseller, a Parent's Choice Gold Award winner, and it appeared on more than thirty state award lists. She lives in Iowa
Katherine Hannigan's website
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Where did Ida B and the idea for her story come from?
Ida B came out of a lot of things in my life – moving to the Midwest and
falling in love with the space, the hills, the woods, the people who have no
idea who you are but who wave and smile at you as they drive by. She came from a
love of laughter and being outdoors, a fondness for people with a good dose of
punkishness in them. I think in many ways Ida B has the life I would have chosen
if I could have.
You were teaching at a university when you started writing this novel.
What made you think about writing a children's book?
When I moved to Iowa, I decided that I wanted to write, on top of the
teaching and making art and exhibiting I was doing. I wrote an article and a
story, and I started a book a few times, but I always gave up after about ten
pages because I didn't think I knew enough about what I was doing. Then a
couple of years ago, on a whim, I went to hear somebody named Kate DiCamillo
speak in St. Paul. I'd never read anything by her, but I thought I'd like to
hear what an author had to say about the process and inspiration and that sort
of thing. So I went to the Fitzgerald Theater and I started crying before Kate
even opened her...
Birdsall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in the suburbs. She decided to become a writer at the age of ten - but she didn't start until she was 41. She worked first on other jobs, most notably as a ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Ida B
Try:
The Penderwicks
by Jeanne Birdsall
It's a pipe dream of many an aspiring author: publish your debut novel, claim a spot on the New York Times bestseller list, and rack up an astonishing array of awards, including a Newbery Honor. For Kate DiCamillo, ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Ida B
Try:
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo
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