Harper, Suzanne (N.B. Grace)

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Harper, Suzanne (N.B. Grace)

PERSONAL:

Born in OH. Education: University of Texas, Austin, B.A.; University of Southern California, M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY.

CAREER:

Editor and writer. Whittle Communications, member of editorial staff; Disney Adventures, member of staff, beginning 1990, became managing editor, then executive editor, editor-in-chief, beginning 1997; Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, New York, NY, senior vice president, 2004-05.

WRITINGS:

Lightning: Sheets, Streaks, Beads, and Balls, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1997.

Clouds: From Mare's Tails to Thunderheads, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Brian Boitano) Boitano's Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

Goofy and Gross Body Tricks, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Jungle Cubs: Rain, Rain, Go Away!, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Annabelle's Wish, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Hands On! 33 More Things Every Girl Should Know: Skills for Living Your Life from 33 Extraordinary Women, Crown (New York, NY), 2001.

(Reteller) Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little, Brown Kids (New York, NY), 2006.

(Reteller) The Three Little Pigs, Little, Brown Kids (New York, NY), 2006.

(With John Christian Orndorff) Terrorists, Tornadoes, and Tsunamis: How to Prepare for Life's Danger Zones, Harry Abrams (New York, NY), 2007.

The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney (novel), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 2007.

The Juliet Club (novel), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 2008.

Rock the Waves (based on Hannah Montana television series), Disney Press (New York, NY), 2008.

Also author of plays, including The Belief Factor, The Worthy Matron of Eastern Star, and Shady Grove.

DISNEY TIE-INS; UNDER PSEUDONYM N.B. GRACE

High School Musical: The Junior Novel, Disney Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Far-out Phil, Disney Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Double Trouble (based on television series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), Disney Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Broadway Dreams (based on High School Musical), Disney Press (New York, NY), 2007.

Disney High School Musical 2: The Junior Novel, Disney Press (New York, NY), 2007.

Disney's High School Musical: Stories from East High: Crunch Time (also see below), Disney Press (New York, NY), 2007.

High School Musical: All Access, Disney Press (New York, NY), 2007.

High School Musical Original Junior Novel No. 1, Disney Press (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Alice Alfonsi and Catherine Hapka) High School Musical: Stories from East High (includes Crunch Time), Spotlight (Edina, MN), 2008.

Bonjour, Wildcats (based on High School Musical), Disney Press (New York, NY), 2009.

UNDER PSEUDONYM N.B. GRACE

UFO Mysteries, Childs World (Chanhassen, MN), 2007.

Women in Space, Childs World (Chanhassen, MN), 2007.

(Editor) Joseph Périgot, Dealing with Dad, illustrated by Christian Quennehen, translated by Gita Daneshjoo, Amulet (New York, NY), 2007.

Mummies Unwrapped! The Science of Mummy-making, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2008.

(Editor) Marie-José Auderset, Walking Tall: How to Build Confidence and Be the Best You Can Be, illustrated by Gaëtan de Séguin, Amulet (New York, NY), 2008.

UFOs: What Scientists Say May Shock You!, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Born in Ohio, editor and author Suzanne Harper grew up in Texas before earning her M.A. in California and eventually settling in New York City. Harper began her career with books as an editor at Whittle Communications before landing a position on the Disney Adventures magazine. Her relationship with entertainment giant Disney has continued over the years, and she has written many novels and adaptations of Disney television programs, publishing them under her own name as well as under her pen name, N.B. Grace.

Harper's novels Lightning: Sheets, Streaks, Beads, and Balls and Clouds: From Mare's Tails to Thunderheads were written on assignment for the library market. Then came Boitano's Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating, which she coauthored with Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano. In Booklist Kay Weisman predicted that the "fascinating, behind-the-scenes details" the coauthors reveal about one of the most widely viewed televised sports will keep readers turning pages. As a Publishers Weekly critic concluded of Boitano's Edge: "Young skaters are sure to give this title a top score of 6.0."

Another of Harper's nonfiction titles, Hands On! 33 More Things Every Girl Should Know: Skills for Living Your Life from 33 Extraordinary Women features anecdotes and tales from such contributors as Lois Lowry, Sara Moulton, Norma Fox Mazer, and Naomi Shihab Nye. A Publishers Weekly reviewer characterized the work as "an easy book to dip in and out of," and Judith M. Garner wrote in Book Report that Hands On! is "packed with good information on topics students need to read." In addition to her nonfiction titles, Harper has also produced adaptations of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.

The original young-adult novel The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney marked a departure for Harper. In the novel, Sparrow Delaney is the seventh daughter of a psychic, and everyone expects great things from her. Tricking everyone in her family into believing she has no real supernatural powers, Sparrow finds it particularly hard to keep her secret when the ghost of a handsome boy named Luke demands that she become his conduit to the living. As she gets to know both Luke and his still-living brother, Jack, Sparrow wonders if being a psychic might be her destiny after all. "The intriguing premise is developed into a well-plotted story," wrote Ilene Cooper in Booklist. "With its masterful charm and superbly creative storyline, the only possible fault with this book is that Harper has not already written two or three sequels to it," Cara Chancellor stated in Kliatt. Marie C. Hansen commented in School Library Journal on Harper's research into Spiritism and the New York-area setting for the novel, complimenting the author for "creating an accurate atmosphere." As a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney: "For all of the imagination the author displays in inventing a spirit world, she shows equal skill in probing the nuances of tender emotions, too."

In completing her second teen novel, The Juliet Club, Harper studied the plays of English dramatist William Shakespeare, practiced stage fencing, and visited Verona, Italy, twice, the first time as she was preparing to write the book and the second time after her draft was written. The second visit allowed her to add details to the story that might have been absent otherwise. "There are parts of the book that come directly from that trip," Harper explained on the Slayground Blog.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 1998, Kay Weisman, review of Boitano's Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating, p. 1001; February 1, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Hands On! 33 More Things Every Girl Should Know: Skills for Living Your Life from 33 Extraordinary Women, p. 1044; April 15, 2007, Ed Sullivan, review of Terrorists, Tornadoes, and Tsunamis: How to Prepare for Life's Danger Zones, p. 36; July 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, p. 52.

Book Report, September-October, 2001, Judith M. Garner, review of Hands On!, p. 72.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September, 2007, Cindy Welch, review of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, p. 30.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2007, review of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney.

Kliatt, July, 2007, Cara Chancellor, review of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, p. 16.

Publishers Weekly, December 8, 1997, review of Boitano's Edge, p. 73; July 30, 2007, review of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, p. 85.

School Library Journal, April, 1998, Frances Feiher, review of Boitano's Edge, p. 141; March, 2001, Katie O'Dell, review of Hands On!, p. 267; December, 2006, Blair Christolon, review of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, p. 122; November, 2007, Marie C. Hansen, review of The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney, p. 124; May, 2007, Jeffrey A. French, review of Terrorists, Tornadoes, and Tsunamis, p. 160.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2007, Steven Kral, review of Terrorists, Tornadoes, and Tsunamis, p. 81.