Hennessy, B.G. 1951- (Barbara G. Hennessy)

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Hennessy, B.G. 1951- (Barbara G. Hennessy)

PERSONAL:

Born March 10, 1951, in New York, NY; daughter of Charles F. (in business) and Helen A. Gulbrandsen; married James M. Hennessy (a business executive and attorney), August 14, 1971; children: Matthew James, Mark Andrew, Brett Michael. Education: Attended St. Lawrence University, 1969-71; University of Wisconsin—Madison, B.S., 1973.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Paradise Valley, AZ. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Dial Press, New York, NY, design assistant, 1973-75; Crown Children's Books, New York, NY, art director, 1975-76; art director for other publishers in New York, NY, including Viking Children's Books for thirteen years, Puffin Books, and Frederick Warne, between 1976 and 1990; writer, 1990—. Community volunteer.

MEMBER:

Authors Guild, Authors League of America, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Cited among best books of the year, Bank Street College of Education, 2004, for The Attic Christmas; Reading Magic Awards, Parenting, for The Missing Tarts and Sleep Tight; children's choice citation, International Reading Association, for The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard; American Book Award for Art Direction and Book Design; certificate of excellence, American Institute of Graphic Arts; citation for typographic excellence, Type Directors Club; award from Art Directors Club; three certificates of merit, Society of Illustrators.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard, Viking (New York, NY), 1988.

The Missing Tarts, Viking (New York, NY), 1989.

A, B, C, D, Tummy, Toes, Hands, Knees, Viking (New York, NY), 1989.

Jake Baked the Cake, Viking (New York, NY), 1990.

School Days, Viking (New York, NY), 1990.

Eeeney, Meeney, Miney, Mo, Viking (New York, NY), 1990.

When You Were Just a Little Girl, Viking (New York, NY), 1991.

Corduroy's Christmas, Viking (New York, NY), 1992.

Sleep Tight, Viking (New York, NY), 1992.

Roado Builders, Viking (New York, NY), 1994.

Corduroy's Halloween, Viking (New York, NY), 1995.

Olympics!, Viking (New York, NY), 1996.

Corduroy's Birthday, Viking (New York, NY), 1997.

Corduroy's Easter, Viking (New York, NY), 1998.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, Viking (New York, NY), 1999.

The Once upon a Time Map Book, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

Corduroy Goes to the Zoo, Viking (New York, NY), 2000.

Meet Dinah Dinosaur, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

Bush Dinah Dinosaur, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

Corduroy Goes to School, Viking (New York, NY), 2002.

My Book of Thanks, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Corduroy Goes to the Firestation, Viking (New York, NY), 2003.

The Attic Christmas, Putnam (New York, NY), 2004.

Corduroy Goes to the Library, Viking (New York, NY), 2005.

Because of You, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Corduroy Lost and Found, Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

Mr. Ouchy's First Day, Putnam (New York, NY), 2006.

Corduroy Goes to the Beach, Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

Claire and the Unicorn, Happy Ever After, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

Hennessy's books have been translated into German, French, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Tswana, Sesotho, and Zulu.

SIDELIGHTS:

B.G. Hennessy told CA: "I've always loved a good question, especially one that has more than one answer. When I'm working on a book I often start by looking for an intriguing question. The fun of writing a book is in coming up with interesting answers.

"I've lived in many places. I grew up in Wantagh on Long Island, New York, graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, and attended St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and lived in New York City for many years until my family moved to California. Since 1993 I have lived in Arizona with my husband and our three sons.

"At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I majored in typography and ran a small press where I designed, typeset, and bound my own books. I also took courses in children's literature. The combination of form and content in the picture book fascinated me, and after graduation I headed for New York City, where I worked for seventeen years in children's book design.

"Here are ten things about me. When I grew up I wanted to be either Annie Oakley or Tinkerbell. I wrote and illustrated my first book, Patsy the Turtle, when I was in kindergarten; you can see it on my Web site. Once I was in an Ivory soap commercial on television. I have never liked Brussels sprouts, but I do like graham crackers and milk. I like to play ping-pong and knock hockey. I am shorter than my three sons. In college I studied art and book design, not writing. When I write I work in front of a big window that looks out at Mummy Mountain in the desert. My favorite part of writing a book is thinking and planning it; I think writing is hard. No one really called me B.G.; I use initials on my books because when I started writing I liked the way the initials looked."