Kehret, Peg 1936–

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced "carrot"; born November 11, 1936, in LaCrosse, WI; daughter of Arthur R. (a food company executive) and Elizabeth M. (a homemaker) Schulze; married Carl E. Kehret (a player-piano restorer), July 2, 1955; children: Bob C., Anne M. Education: Attended University of Minnesota, 1954–55. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, gardening, antiques, watching baseball games, animals, cooking.

ADDRESSES: Home—Box 303, Wilkeson, WA 98396. Agent—Emilie Jacobson, Curtis Brown Ltd., 10 Astor Pl., New York, NY 10003.

CAREER: Writer, 1973–. Humane Society volunteer.

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

AWARDS, HONORS: Forest Roberts Playwriting Award, Northern Michigan University, 1978, Best New Play of 1979, Pioneer Drama Service, and Best Plays for Senior Adults, American Theater Association, 1981, all for Spirit!; Children's Choice Award, International Reading Association and Children's Book Council (IRA-CBC), 1988, for Deadly Stranger; Service Award, American Humane Association, 1989; Young Hoosier Book Award, Association for Indiana Media Educators, 1992, Nebraska Golden Sower Award and Iowa Children's Choice Award, both 1993, and Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1995, all for Nightmare Mountain; Maud Hart Lovelace Award for Cages; Achievement Award, Pacific Northwest Writer's Conference, 1992; Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award and Iowa Children's Choice Award, both for Terror at the Zoo; Sequoyah Award and Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award, both for Horror at the Haunted House; Golden Kite Award, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, 1996, award for children's literature from PEN Center U.S.A. West, 1997, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, 1998, Mark Twain Award, 1999, and Young Hoosier Award, 2001, all for Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio; Children's Crown Award, National Christian Schools Association, and West Virginia Children's Book Award, both 1998, and Utah Children's Choice Award, all for Earthquake Terror; Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination, Mystery Writers of America, 2005, for Abduction! Florida Sunshine Award, 2000, for The Volcano Disaster; Henry Bergh Award, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2001, for Saving Lilly; Lamplighter Award, National Christian Schools Association, 2003, for I'm Not Who You Think I Am! Nevada Young Readers' Award and Oklahoma Sequoyah Award, both 2005, both for The Stranger Next Door. Cited among recommended books for reluctant young adult readers, American Library Association (ALA), 1989, for The Winner, and 1992, for Cages; cited among books for the teen age, New York Public Library, 1992, for Cages and Winning Monologs for Young Actors: 65 Honest-to-Life Characterizations to Delight Young Actors and Audiences of All Ages; cited in Texas Lone Star list, 1992; cited as young adult's choice, International Reading Association (IRA), for Cages, and 1992, for Sisters, Long Ago, and for Terror at the Zoo; cited among quick picks for reluctant young adult readers, ALA, and cited among children's choices, IRA, both for Danger at the Fair; cited among children's books of the year, Child Study Children's Book Committee, 1995, for The Richest Kids in Town; notable book citation, ALA, 1997, for Small Steps.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

Winning Monologs for Young Actors: 65 Honest-to-Life Characterizations to Delight Young Actors and Audiences of All Ages, Meriwether Publishing (Colorado Springs, CO), 1986.

Deadly Stranger, Dodd, Mead (New York, NY), 1987.

Encore!: More Winning Monologs for Young Actors: 63 More Honest-to-Life Monologs for Teenage Boys and Girls, Meriwether Publishing (Colorado Springs, CO), 1988.

The Winner, Turman (Seattle, WA), 1988.

Nightmare Mountain, Dutton (New York, NY), 1989.

Sisters, Long Ago, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1990.

Cages, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1991.

Acting Natural: Monologs, Dialogs, and Playlets for Teens, Meriwether Publishing (Colorado Springs, CO), 1991.

Terror at the Zoo, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1992.

Horror at the Haunted House, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1992, 2nd edition, Puffin Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Night of Fear, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1994.

The Richest Kids in Town, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1994.

Danger at the Fair, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1995.

Don't Go Near Mrs. Tallie, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Desert Danger, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Cat Burglar on the Prowl, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Bone Breath and the Vandals, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Backstage Fright, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Earthquake Terror, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1996.

Screaming Eagles, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Race to Disaster, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 1996.

The Ghost Followed Us Home, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Searching for Candlestick Park, Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1997.

The Volcano Disaster, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Blizzard Disaster, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

I'm Not Who You Think I Am, Dutton (New York, NY), 1999.

Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 1999.

The Flood Disaster, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1999.

The Secret Journey, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1999.

My Brother Made Me Do It, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Don't Tell Anyone, Dutton (New York, NY), 2000.

The Hideout, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2001, 2nd edition, Aladdin Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2002.

Saving Lilly, Aladdin Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2002.

Five Pages a Day: A Writer's Journey, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2002.

The Stranger Next Door, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

Escaping the Giant Wave, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Spy Cat, Dutton (New York, NY), 2003.

Abduction!, Dutton (New York, NY), 2004.

The Ghost's Grave, Dutton (New York, NY), 2005.

PLAYS

Cemeteries Are a Grave Matter, Dramatic Publishing (Woodstock, IL), 1975.

Let Him Sleep 'till It's Time for His Funeral, Contemporary Drama Service (Colorado Springs, CO), 1977.

Spirit!, Pioneer Drama Service (Englewood, CO), 1979.

Dracula, Darling, Contemporary Drama Service (Colorado Springs, CO), 1979.

Charming Billy, Contemporary Drama Service (Colorado Springs, CO), 1983.

Bicycles Built for Two (musical), Contemporary Drama Service (Colorado Springs, CO), 1985.

FOR ADULTS

Wedding Vows: How to Express Your Love in Your Own Words, Meriwether Publishing (Colorado Springs, CO), 1979, 2nd edition, 1989.

Refinishing and Restoring Your Piano, Tab Books (Blue Ridge Summmit, PA), 1985.

Contributor to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS: Peg Kehret is the author of over two dozen children's novels; most of them, such as award-winners Deadly Stranger, Nightmare Mountain, and Earthquake Terror, serve up heavy doses of suspense and danger. Kehret has also written nonfiction for adults as well as for children. Winning Monologs for Young Actors: 65 Honest-to-Life Characterizations to Delight Young Actors and Audiences of All Ages and Acting Natural: Monologs, Dialogs, and Playlets for Teems both reflect her own commitment to theater; Kehret is also a playwright. Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio documents her own fight with a childhood case of polio that left her temporarily paralyzed. In a Booklist review of Kehret's Earthquake Terror, Stephanie Zvirin summed up the author's career to date: "Prolific author Kehret has a well-deserved reputation for writing good, solid thrillers for middle-graders."

Kehret formed an early passion for words and writing. Paid three cents a story by her grandfather, she wrote, published, and sold her own newspaper about the dogs in her neighborhood. From this experience she gained valuable knowledge about pleasing an audience: her youthful broadsheet soon went out of business because she continually featured her own dog on the front page.

Kehret's idyllic childhood was shattered when she contracted polio in the seventh grade. As a result, she was paralyzed from the neck down and told that she would never walk again. "Much to everyone's surprise," Kehret once said, "I made almost a complete recovery. I vividly remember the time when I got sick and my months in the hospital and my eventual return to school. Maybe that's why I enjoy writing books for young people; I recall exactly how it felt to be that age. I remember my friends and the books I liked and even what programs I listened to on the radio. When I write, it is easy for me to slip back in my imagination and become twelve years old again."

As a teen, Kehret dreamed of being either a veterinarian or writer, finally opting for the wordsmith business. "I'm glad I chose writing," Kehret said, "but two of the main characters in my books want to be veterinarians. Dogs, llamas, and elephants have played important parts in my books." With high school came a new direction for Kehret's interest in words: theater. Cast as a hillbilly in a one-act play as a freshman, Kehret was seriously bit by the theater bug, working backstage or in acting roles in every production she could. Kehret briefly attended the University of Minnesota before marrying in 1955. Children soon followed and she lived the busy life of mother and homemaker, alsoserving as a volunteer with the Humane Society.

Kehret began writing in the early 1970s, spurred on by further work in community theater as well as her interest in research of various sorts. She began selling magazine stories, eventually logging over 300 of them before turning her hand to lengthier works. One-act and full-length plays followed, including the award-winning Spirit!, as well as two adult nonfiction titles, before she began writing books for young people. Her initial juvenile title, Winning Monologs for Young Actors, appeared in 1986 and was followed by her first novel for young people, Deadly Stranger. The story of a kidnapping, this novel was dubbed a "cliffhanger" by a Kirkus Reviews contributor. "As soon as I tried writing from a youthful point of view," Kehret continued, "I knew I had found my place in the writing world."

Another popular early title from Kehret is Nightmare Mountain, a thriller involving young Molly and her visit to her aunt's ranch at the foot of Mount Baker. The fun visit turns into a nightmare when her Aunt Karen falls into a coma and three valuable llamas are stolen. Booklist reviewer Denise Wilms observed that Kehret delivered "a fast-paced mystery-adventure tale with a heroine who, when forced to deal with disaster, shows courage and resourcefulness." Jeanette Larson concluded in the School Library Journal that the book is a "satisfying novel that will keep readers guessing until the end." Reincarnation informs Kehret's next book, Sisters, Long Ago. When Willow comes close to drowning, she sees herself in another life in ancient Egypt. The girl who saves her seems to be her sister from Egyptian days, while her own sister, Sarah, is fighting a losing battle with leukemia. Bruce Anne Shook, writing in the School Library Journal, noted that "suspense is maintained up to the very end, making this a page-turner."

One of Kehret's personal favorites, Cages, allowed her to write about a passion of hers, the Humane Society. When young Kit—who has an alcoholic stepfather and a mother in denial—gives in to a momentary urge and shoplifts a bracelet, she sets off a train of events that has lasting repercussions in her life. Caught, she is sentenced to community service at the Humane Society. There she falls in love with the homeless dogs and learns lessons about personal responsibility and facing her problems. As Andrea Davidson noted in the Voice of Youth Advocates, the book "will appeal to young teen readers interested in getting out of the 'cages' represented by their problems." School Library Journal reviewer Sylvia V. Meisner concluded that Kit's determination to set herself free from "the cages of alcohol enablement, jealousy, and, ultimately, the secret of her crime make her an appealing protagonist."

Terror at the Zoo is the story of an overnight campout at the zoo which goes very wrong. Horror at the Haunted House continues the adventures of Ellen and Corey from Terror at the Zoo. This time around, they help with a Halloween haunted-house project at the local historical museum, only to discover that the house really is haunted. Overcoming her fear of ghosts, Ellen helps find out who is stealing from the museum's collection. Donna Houser noted in the Voice of Youth Advocates that this "fun, fast-paced novel can be read in an evening," while Booklist contributor Chris Sherman concluded that readers "will be waiting in line for this action-packed novel, which combines a good mystery with an exciting ghost story, a little danger, and a satisfying ending that ties everything up neatly." Ellen and Corey appear again in Danger at the Fair, "this time sharing a thrill-a-minute adventure set at a county fair," according to Booklist contributor Zvirin. Atop the Ferris wheel, Corey spies a pickpocket at work, but when Corey subsequently trails the thief, he is trapped inside the "River of Fear" ride. Zvirin concluded that the mystery-suspense components of the story, plus "a pair of enthusiastic, heroic, quite likable" protagonists all added up to a book "that won't stay on the shelf for long."

Two other personal favorites of Kehret are The Richest Kids in Town and Searching for Candlestick Park. The former title represents a departure for Kehret; it is a comic novel about a boy's money-making ventures that all go wrong. New in town, Peter desperately wants to save up enough money for a plane ticket to go back and visit his best friend. Peter enlists the help of some other kids, including Wishbone Wyoming, in some of his crazy money-making schemes. Their plans range from an alternative health club to a rubber-duck race, and all fail miserably and rather humorously. Finally Peter comes to see that he no longer needs to make money for a ticket; he has a new best friend in Wishbone. A critic for Kirkus Reviews concluded that there were "clever antics in this fun book," while a reviewer in Horn Book dubbed it a "read-aloud comedy." In Searching for Candlestick Park, twelve-year-old Spencer is trying to find the father who left him and his mom three years before. Sure that his dad works for the San Francisco Giants, Spencer sets off on his bicycle from Seattle, accompanied by his cat, Foxey. Lauren Peterson noted in Booklist that Spencer's "honesty and integrity are repeatedly tested" in this "fast-paced, exciting adventure." A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that "Spencer's impulsive escapade may give readers infatuated with the notion of running away some second thoughts."

With Earthquake Terror, Kehret returned to her more usual thriller format. When an earthquake destroys the only bridge to the mainland from the tiny island where Jonathan and his disabled sister Abby are staying, the young boy is pitted against nature. With no food or supplies, and unable to contact help, Jonathan must single-handedly save Abby, his dog, and himself. With displaced waters from the quake beginning to flood the island, the clock is ticking on Jonathan's efforts. "It will be a rare thriller fan who won't want to see what happens," Zvirin commented in her Booklist review. Roger Sutton, writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, noted that Kehret's "focus on the action is tight and involving," while Elaine E. Knight concluded in the School Library Journal that "Jonathan is a sympathetic and realistic character," and that this "exciting tale is a fine choice for most collections."

Kehret has also authored several titles in the "Frightmare" series, a competitor to the popular "Goosebumps" books. Her books feature friends Rosie and Kayo who get involved in adventures and mysteries, from solving a kidnapping in Arizona in Desert Danger to solving a possible poisoning in Don't Go Near Mrs. Tallie to discovering vandals in the school with the help of a pet in Bone Breath and the Vandals. Using youthful protagonists Warren and Betsy, Kehret has also employed time travel to set up thrilling stories, as in The Volcano Disaster, in which Warren must survive the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Booklist contributor Peterson, reviewing Bone Breath and the Vandals, noted that "Kehret delivers some likable characters and a thrilling plot that won't disappoint suspense fans."

Nonfiction for children has also received the Kehret touch. Of her several books of monologues for young actors, one of the most popular is Acting Natural. "A wide range of topics is addressed in this sourcebook of 60 original scenes and monologues," noted Dianne G. Mahony in the School Library Journal. Donna Houser commented in the Voice of Youth Advocates that "all sections have their own merit because they deal with problems that are relevant to today's youth."

Kehret details her own battle with the paralyzing aftereffects of polio in her award-winning Small Steps. "This heartfelt memoir takes readers back to 1949 when the author, at age 12, contracted polio," noted Zvirin in Booklist. Kehret describes the progress of the illness, the paralysis, and her slow recovery. Christine A. Moesch concluded in the School Library Journal that Kehret's memoir was an "honest and well-done book." Yet another nonfiction title is Kehret's Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays, stories of dogs that found a second life after being taken from Humane Society shelters. A Kirkus Reviews critic called the book "an amiable collection of short anecdotes," concluding that there was "a ready audience to cry over and gasp at the tale behind every dog."

Kehret has amassed a large body of work and a legion of loyal fans—both girls and boys—for her middle-grade thrillers. Blending exciting action, likable characters, and "hi-lo" language, Kehret writes books that lead her readers on to more difficult fiction and nonfiction.

In Abduction! five-year-old Matt is kidnapped by the birth-father he has never met, and it is up to his twelve-year-old half-sister Bonnie to come to his rescue, despite the danger to herself. In addition to offering readers a suspenseful page-turner, Abduction! also provides an education about the ruses that kidnappers can use to lure children, the appropriate steps that even a child can take to find a missing youngster, and the procedures in place (both formal and casual) to locate and save a kidnapping victim. A Kirkus Reviews contributor observed that Kehret "demonstrates a deft touch in maintaining suspense while keeping her narrative light enough" to avoid intimidating the middle-grade readers for whom she writes. School Library Journal reviewer Diana Pierce also noted the level of suspense in Abduction!, adding that "the story is resolved happily but with a twist."

The Ghost's Grave is another suspense novel, one in which danger is leavened by an element of the fantastic. Young Josh is sent to spend the summer with an eccentric old aunt who turns out to be more interesting than he expected her to be. He roams the woods of Washington state coal-mining country until he finds a dilapidated tree house that is not as abandoned as it appears to be. Its resident ghost is one-legged Willy, who begs Josh to find his missing leg and bury it with the rest of his body. Josh finds a lot more than a buried leg: there is treasure and real-world danger in abundance. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called it "a solidly plotted ghost story." Michele Winship went further in her Kliatt review, calling The Ghost's Grave "a warm-hearted novel of the relationship between a boy, an old woman, and a ghost."

Kehret recently told CA: "When I began writing books for kids, my purpose was to entertain. I soon realized that I could be entertaining and share my values at the same time. One underlying theme in all of my work is that violence is never a solution. I show my characters using their brains to get out of trouble, rather than relying on a gun or some other weapon.

"Since I'm an animal lover, animals play a part in all of my books. Some, such as Saving Lilly and Don't Tell Anyone and Shelter Dogs, have an animal welfare theme as the main plot; others, such as The Hideout and Searching for Candlestick Park, use animals in a sub-plot. I always show my protagonists acting with compassion in the hope that readers who identify with those characters will learn to be more compassionate, too."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1992.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 1989, Denise Wilms, review of Nightmare Mountain, p. 184; February 15, 1990, p. 1166; May 15, 1992, p. 1672; September 1, 1992, Chris Sherman, review of Horror at the Haunted House, p. 254; September 1, 1994, p. 41; December 1, 1994, p. 664; January 1, 1995, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Danger at the Fair, p. 830; May 1, 1995, p. 1573; October 1, 1995, p. 314; January 1, 1996, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Earthquake Terror, p. 834; November 1, 1996, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, pp. 492-493; August, 1997, Lauren Peterson, review of Searching for Candlestick Park, p. 1901; August, 1998, Lauren Peterson, review of Bone Breath and the Vandals, p. 2005.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February, 1995, pp. 202-203; March, 1996, Roger Sutton, review of Earthquake Terror, p. 231; November, 1996, pp. 100-101; November, 1997, pp. 88-89.

Horn Book, spring, 1995, review of The Richest Kid in Town, p. 78.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 1987, review of Deadly Stranger, p. 373; August 15, 1994, review of The Richest Kid in Town, p. 1131; June 1, 1997, review of Searching for Candlestick Park, p. 874; April 1, 1999, review of Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays, p. 535; November 1, 2005, review of Abduction!, p. 1090; July 1, 2005, review of The Ghost's Grave, p. 737.

Kliatt, July, 1993, p. 10; March, 1997, p. 40; July, 2005, Michele Winship, review of The Ghost's Grave. p. 12.

School Library Journal, October, 1989, Jeanette Larson, review of Nightmare Mountain, p. 120; March, 1990, Bruce Anne Shook, review of Sisters, Long Ago, pp. 218-219; June, 1991, Sylvia V. Meisner, review of Cages, p. 126; August, 1992, Dianne G. Mahony, review of Acting Natural: Monologs, Dialogs, and Playlets for Teens, p. 182; September, 1994, p. 218; May, 1995, p. 108; December, 1995, p. 104; February, 1996, Elaine E. Knight, review of Earthquake Terror, p. 100; November, 1996, Christine A. Moesch, review of Small Steps, p. 114; July, 1998, p. 96; December, 2004, Diana Pierce, review of Abduction!, p. 149.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 1991, Andrea Davidson, review of Cages, pp. 97-98; June, 1992, Donna Houser, review of Acting Natural, pp. 126-127; October, 1992, Donna Houser, review of Horror at the Haunted House, p. 224; February, 1996, p. 373.

ONLINE

Kids Love Books by Peg Kehret, http://www.pegkehret.com (November 12, 2005).