HELLDORFER, M(ary) C(laire) 1954– (Elizabeth Chandler)

PERSONAL: Born 1954, in Baltimore, MD. Education: Loyola College, B.A., 1975; University of Rochester, M.A., Ph.D., 1984.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Writer. Part-time teacher.

WRITINGS:

Daniel's Gift, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Almost Home, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Spook House, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Sailing to the Sea, Viking (New York, NY), 1991.

The Mapmaker's Daughter, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1991.

The Darling Boys, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1992.

Cabbage Rose, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Clap Clap!, Viking (New York, NY), 1993.

Gather up, Gather In: A Book of Seasons, Viking (New York, NY), 1994.

Moon Trouble, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Carnival, Viking (New York, NY), 1996.

Jack, Skinny Bones, and the Golden Pancakes, Viking (New York, NY), 1996.

Harmonica Night, Atheneum Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1997.

Night of the Night Stag, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Orangutans, National Geographical Society (Washington, DC), 1999.

Penguins, National Geographical Society (Washington, DC), 1999.

Silver Rain Brown, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1999.

Hog Music, Viking (New York, NY), 2000.

Phoebe and the River Flute, Doubleday Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2000.

Anne of Green Gables (based on the novel by L. M. Montgomery), Doubleday Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2001.

Got To Dance, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata, Doubleday Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2003.

UNDER PSEUDONYM ELIZABETH CHANDLER

Kissed by an Angel, Archway (New York, NY), 1995.

The Power of Love, Archway (New York, NY), 1995.

Soul Mates, Archway (New York, NY), 1995.

Hot Summer Nights, Bantam (New York, NY), 1996.

Love Happens, Bantam (New York, NY), 1997.

At First Sight, Bantam (New York, NY), 1998.

I Do, Bantam (New York, NY), 1999.

Dark Secrets: Legacy of Lies, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Dark Secrets: Don't Tell, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Dark Secrets: No Time to Die, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Deep End of Fear, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: M. C. Helldorfer draws on a variety of inspirations for her children's books, from true stories to fairy tales to her own imagination. In The Mapmaker's Daughter, she created a feminist fairy tale in which the king's son is captured by a witch, then rescued by the brave daughter of a mapmaker. In a final twist, the young woman does not marry the prince and live with him happily ever after, but instead chooses to undertake new adventures. Helldorfer's story is "fresh and original," decided a Publishers Weekly reviewer. The author continued in the same vein with Cabbage Rose, another fairy tale featuring a strong, independent heroine. Nicknamed "Cabbage" because of her plain looks, the girl comes into possession of a magical paintbrush that creates real objects.

When she falls in love with the prince and paints herself a new face, he surprises her by preferring her true, plainer self. "This is a particularly empowering book for girls," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

Far removed from the realm of fairy tale, Silver Rain Brown is set in a big city, one that is enduring a long, hot spell. A boy and his mother are the central characters; they wait for the arrival of the mother's new baby, while the boy wishes his father would return. The birth comes just as a much-needed rain refreshes the city, and the book ends on a "happy, hopeful note," commented Susan Dove Lempke in Booklist.

For Hog Music, the author turned to the history of the National Public Road, which was the main passage between Maryland and the Mississippi Valley during the first half of the 1800s. In Hog Music, readers trace the route of a birthday present mailed from Aunt Liza in Baltimore, Maryland, to her niece Lucy, whose family has moved to the frontier during the 1840s. In Hog Music, Helldorfer has given readers "an almost perfect picture book," stated Sue Corbett in the Miami Herald.

Helldorfer has also written young adult novels under the pseudonym Elizabeth Chandler.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 1993, Jim Jeski, review of Cabbage Rose, p. 988; November 15, 1994, Mary Harris Veeder, review of Gather up, Gather in: A Book of Seasons, p. 612; October 15, 1996, Kay Weisman, review of Jack, Skinny Bones, and the Golden Pancakes, p. 426; February 15, 1999, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Silver Rain Brown, p. 1075; December 1, 1999, Marta Segal, review of Night of the White Stag, p. 711; March 1, 2000, Linda Perkins, review of Phoebe and the River Flute, p. 1250; February 1, 2001, Roger Leslie, review of Legacy of Lies, p. 1046; May 15, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Got To Dance, p. 1625.

Horn Book, May-June, 1996, Elizabeth S. Watson, review of Carnival, p. 324.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2004, review of Got To Dance, p. 394.

Kliatt, January, 2002, review of No Time to Die, p. 15.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, December 13, 1987.

Miami Herald, November 22, 2000, Sue Corbett, review of Hog Music.

New York Times Book Review, August 13, 2000, review of Hog Music, p. 16.

Publishers Weekly, January 11, 1991, review of The Mapmaker's Daughter, p. 101; February 15, 1993, review of Cabbage Rose, p. 238; September 19, 1994, review of Gather up, Gather In, p. 68; December 18, 1995, review of Carnival, p. 53; November 11, 1996, review of Jack, Skinny Bones, and the Golden Pancakes, p. 73; April 28, 1997, review of Harmonica Night, p. 75; October 30, 2000, review of Legacy of Lies, p. 76; January 29, 2001, review of Anne of Green Gables, p. 91; April 21, 2003, review of Anne of Green Gables, p. 65; May 3, 2004, review of Got To Dance, p. 190.

School Library Journal, July, 1991, Leda Schubert, review of The Mapmaker 's Daughter, p. 57; September, 1992, Judy Constantinides, review of The Darling Boys, p. 205; November, 1993, Liza Bliss, review of Cabbage Rose, p. 82; December, 1994, Linda Greengrass, review of Gather up, Gather In, p. 76; January, 1995, John Peters, review of Moon Trouble, p. 87; March, 1996, Claudia Cooper, review of Carnival, p. 189; October, 1996, Lauralyn Persson, review of Jack, Skinny Bones, and the Golden Pancakes, p. 96; June, 1997, Heide Piehler, review of Harmonica Night, p. 90; May, 1999, Susan Pine, review of Silver Rain Brown, p. 90; November, 1999, Tracy Taylor, review of Night of the White Stag, p. 119; March, 2000, Beth Tegart, review of Phoebe and the River Flute, p. 204; May, 2000, Lee Bock, review of Hog Music, p. 142; January, 2001, Jana R. Fine, review of Legacy of Lies, p. 126.