Levitin, Sonia 1934–

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Levitin, Sonia 1934–

PERSONAL:

Born August 18, 1934, in Berlin, Germany; immigrated to United States, 1938; daughter of Max (a manufacturer) and Helene Wolff; married Lloyd Levitin (a business executive), December 27, 1953; children: Daniel Joseph, Shari Diane. Education: Attended University of California, Berkeley, 1952-54; University of Pennsylvania, B.S., 1956; San Francisco State College (now University), graduate study, 1957-60. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, piano, Judaic studies, travel, history, painting.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—Toni Mendez, Inc., 141 E. 56th St., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and educator. Junior high school teacher in Mill Valley, CA, 1956-57; adult education teacher in Daly City, CA, 1962-64; Acalanes Adult Center, Lafayette, CA, teacher, 1965-72; teacher of creative writing, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, 1973-76, and University of California, Los Angeles Extension, 1978—; University of Judaism, instructor in American Jewish literature, 1989—. Founder of STEP (adult education organization), Palos Verdes Peninsula. Performed volunteer work, including publicity, for various charities and educational institutions.

MEMBER:

Authors League of America, Authors Guild, PEN, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, California Writer's Guild, Moraga Historical Society (founder and former president).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Charles and Bertie G. Schwartz Award for juvenile fiction, Jewish Book Council of America, 1970, and Notable Book citation, American Library Association (ALA), for Journey to America; Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nomination, Georgia State Award nomination, and Mark Twain Award nomination, all for Roanoke; Notable Book citation, ALA, 1973, for Who Owns the Moon?; California Young Reader Medal award nomination in junior-high category, 1976, and Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award for fiction, 1981, both for The Mark of Conte; Golden Spur Award, Western Writers of America, 1978, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, both for The No-Return Trail; Children's Choice award, 1980, for Nobody Stole the Pie; Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People award for distinguished body of work, 1981; Notable Children's Trade Book designation, 1982, and Pick of the Lists, American Booksellers Association, both for The Fisherman and the Bird; Notable Children's Trade Book designation, 1982, for All the Cats in the World; Pick of the Lists, American Booksellers Association, 1982, for The Year of Sweet Senior Insanity; National Jewish Book Award in children's literature, 1987, and PEN Los Angeles Award for Young-Adult Fiction, Sydney Taylor Award, Austrian Youth Prize, Catholic Children's Book Prize (Germany), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nomination, Parent's Choice Honor Book citation, and ALA Best Book for Young Adults designation, all 1988, all for The Return; Edgar Allan Poe Award, Mystery Writers of America, 1988, and Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nomination and Nevada State Award nomination, both 1989, all for Incident at Loring Groves; Honor Book citation, Sydney Taylor Book Award, and Best Book for Young Adults, ALA-YASD, both 1989, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nomination, and Jefferson Cup Award finalist, all for Silver Days; Kansas State Reading Circle selection, 1993, and Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA, both for The Golem and the Dragon Girl; Pick of the Lists designation, American Booksellers Association, Riverside County Author's Award, 1993, and Georgia State Award nomination, all for Annie's Promise; Distinguished Body of Work Award, Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People, 1994; Recommended Books listee, National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1994, and outstanding book citation, Voice of Youth Advocates, Best Books for Young Adults designation, YALSA, Books for the Teen Age designation, New York Public Library, and South Carolina Junior Book Award nomination, all 1995, and Tennessee Book Award nomination in YA category, 1998-99, all for Escape from Egypt; Honor Book designation, Parents' Choice, Books for the Teen Age designation, New York Public Library, and Best of the Best Fiction, Pennsylvania Librarians Association, all for Evil Encounter; California Young Reader Medal finalist, 1996, and Show Me Readers Award nomination, Missouri Association of School Librarians, both for Nine for California; Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist, and Books for the Teen Age designation, New York Public Library, both for Yesterday's Child; Nebraska Golden Sower Award nomination, for Boom Town; Best Books designation, Bank Street College, 1998, and Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book designation, both for The Singing Mountain; Pick of the Lists selection, American Booksellers Association, 1999, for The Cure; Notable Book designation, Smithsonian magazine, for Dream Freedom.

WRITINGS:

FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Roanoke: A Novel of the Lost Colony, illustrated by John Gretzer, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1973.

The Mark of Conte, illustrated by Bill Negron, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1976.

Reigning Cats and Dogs (nonfiction), illustrated by Joan Berg Victor, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1976.

Beyond Another Door, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1977.

The No-Return Trail, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1978.

The Year of Sweet Senior Insanity, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1982.

Smile like a Plastic Daisy, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1984.

A Season for Unicorns, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1986.

The Return (also see below), Atheneum (New York, NY), 1987.

Incident at Loring Groves, Dial (New York, NY), 1988.

The Golem and the Dragon Girl, Dial (New York, NY), 1993.

Escape from Egypt, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1994.

Evil Encounter, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1996.

Yesterday's Child, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

The Singing Mountain, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1998.

The Cure, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1999.

Dream Freedom, Silver Whistle (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Clem's Chances, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Room in the Heart, Dutton (New York, NY), 2003.

The Goodness Gene, Dutton (New York, NY), 2005.

Strange Relations, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2007.

"PLATT FAMILY" TRILOGY

Journey to America, illustrated by Charles Robinson, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1970.

Silver Days, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1989.

Annie's Promise, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1993.

PICTURE BOOKS

Who Owns the Moon?, illustrated by John Larrecq, Parnassus (Berkeley, CA), 1973.

A Single Speckled Egg, illustrated by John Larrecq, Parnassus (Berkeley, CA), 1976.

A Sound to Remember, illustrated by Gabriel Lisowski, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1979.

Nobody Stole the Pie, illustrated by Fernando Krahn, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1980.

All the Cats in the World, illustrated by Charles Robinson, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1982.

The Fisherman and the Bird, illustrated by Francis Livingston, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1982.

The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, Dial (New York, NY), 1991.

A Piece of Home, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard, Dial (New York, NY), 1996.

Nine for California, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith, Orchard (New York, NY), 1996.

Boom Town (sequel to Nine for California), illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith, Orchard (New York, NY), 1998.

Taking Charge (sequel to Boom Town), illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith, Orchard (New York, NY), 1999.

When Elephant Goes to a Party, illustrated by Jeff Seaver, Rising Moon (Flagstaff, AZ), 2001.

When Kangaroo Goes to School, illustrated by Jeff Seaver, Rising Moon (Flagstaff, AZ), 2001.

Junk Man's Daughter, illustrated by Guy Porfirio, Sleeping Bear Press (Chelsea, MI), 2007.

OTHER

Rita, the Weekend Rat (fiction), illustrated by Leonard W. Shortall, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1971.

Jason and the Money Tree (fiction), illustrated by Pat Grant Porter, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1974.

(Under name Sonia Wolff) What They Did to Miss Lily (fiction for adults), Harper (New York, NY), 1981.

(Author of introduction) Yale Strom, A Tree Still Stands: Jewish Youth in Eastern Europe Today, Putnam (New York, NY), 1990.

Adam's War (for children), illustrated by Vincent Nasta, Dial (New York, NY), 1994.

The Return (musical; based on Leviton's novel of the same name), produced at Los Angeles Festival of New American Musicals, 2008.

Feature columnist for Sun Newspapers, Contra Costa, CA, and Jewish Observer of the East Bay, Oakland, CA. Contributor to periodicals, including Christian Science Monitor, Ingenue, Parents', Reform Judaism, San Francisco, Scholastic, Smithsonian, Together, Woman's World, and Writer.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sonia Levitin survived a difficult childhood to thrive as an award-winning children's author. Born to Jewish parents in 1934 amid the anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany, she soon fled with her family to the United States. There she grew up in poverty but went on to gain a college education and fulfill her girlhood dream of becoming a writer. After being honored by the Jewish Book Council of America in 1971 for her autobiographical first novel, Journey to America, she earned further awards for a wide variety of books, including the western The No-return Trail and the murder mystery Incident at Loring Groves.

In the years before Levitin was born, her parents had become prosperous members of the German middle class. Her father, without benefit of higher education, was a skillful tailor and businessman who was able, with a few hasty scribbles, to prepare designs and budgets for his line of clothing. The family enjoyed such comforts as household servants and vacations at some of Germany's most popular resorts. All that changed dramatically after the Nazis took power in 1933 and began the campaign of anti-Jewish terror and murder now known as the Holocaust. To escape persecution, three-year-old Sonia and her family left their belongings and savings behind them and slipped into neighboring Switzerland. There she waited with her mother and two sisters for a year as refugees while her father went to America to arrange a home for them. Once the family settled in the United States, young Sonia's parents had to work mightily to recreate the family business; they were so busy that for several years she was raised largely by one of her sisters. Her mother, moreover, suffered terrible guilt from knowing that she had been unable to save several relatives from death at the hands of the Nazis.

"The Holocaust experience left its deep mark on me," Levitin once recalled. "It is agonizing for me as a Jew to realize that our people were almost exterminated; it is equally agonizing, as a human being, to have to admit to the evil that humans can do to one another." Although Levitin was forced to confront discrimination and suffering at an early age, she also learned the power of compassion, as her family was helped by a variety of non-Jews who sympathized with their plight. "To them I owe a great debt," Levitin wrote, "not the least of which is my optimistic belief that despite evil in the world, there is goodness in great measure, and that goodness knows no boundaries of religion or race."

For a few years Levitin's parents moved the family back and forth between New York City and Los Angeles in an effort to find a profitable living; finally they settled for good in Southern California. Young Sonia became an avid reader and at age eleven wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, beloved author of the "Little House on the Prairie" novels, to confess that she wanted to become a writer. "To my great joy," she recalled, "[I] received a reply, which remains among my treasures to this day." As Levitin progressed through school she continued to be drawn to the arts, writing poems and short stories and learning how to paint and play the piano.

When Levitin was eighteen she enrolled at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, and almost immediately she met her future husband, a fellow student. They were married when she was nineteen. Once the couple completed their studies they settled in the San Francisco area, and after Levitin had taught school for a year she became pregnant and decided to stay home to raise her family. To make full use of her time she resolved to become a writer in earnest, and with encouragement from her husband she became a part-time writing student at nearby San Francisco State College. Her teacher was Walter Van Tilburg Clark, renowned for the moral insight of his western novel The Ox-bow Incident. Levitin fondly recalled the weekly meetings where Clark explained the strengths and weaknesses of her short stories: "Why had he accepted me [for his classes]? I asked him later, when we had become friends. Was my writing good? Not so much the writing style, he replied, but the subjects that I had chosen made him want me as a pupil. The subjects were thoughtful and serious, dealing with war, aging, love, sacrifice, freedom."

Levitin's career as a writer began modestly. To gain experience, she volunteered to do publicity for charities, including the writing of press releases. This work eased her into writing articles for magazines and columns for local newspapers. She also taught creative writing classes of her own. She remained frustrated, though, by her efforts to make an impact as a short-story writer. As an exercise, she started writing a longer narrative based on the tribulations that her family experienced when she was very young. This story, which she originally intended only for her own children, grew over the course of several years into Journey to America, a full-length novel for young people that was published to widespread praise in 1970. The book describes a year in the life of the fictional Platt family, Jewish refugees whose escape from Nazi Germany to the United States resembles Levitin's own. "With Journey to America," Levitin once remarked, "I felt that my career was launched, and that I had found my niche. I loved writing for young people. I felt that in this genre I could be both gentle and serious, idealistic and pragmatic. I realized that I happen to possess a wonderful memory for the details of my own childhood, for smells and sights and sounds, how faces looked, how feelings felt, and what childhood was really all about."

Levitin went on to publish a new book almost every year, and she looked at growing up from many different points of view. Some of her books, including Rita the Weekend Rat and The Mark of Conte, are humorous stories loosely inspired by the antics of her own son and daughter. Rita the Weekend Rat is about a girl who thinks of her pet rat as her closest friend, and The Mark of Conte features an energetic high-school freshman who tries to outsmart the school computer and earn credit for two years of classes in one year's time.

Other books, in the spirit of Journey to America, are more serious works in which young people confront major challenges. The No-return Trail, which won the prestigious Golden Spur Award, is a western novel that breaks with tradition by stressing the heroism of a woman: the main character is a seventeen-year-old wife and mother who became the first female settler to cross the continent to California. The tale is based on a real wagon-train expedition from the 1840s and was researched in part through a local history society in Moraga, California, that Levitin founded with her husband. Incident at Loring Groves, which won the coveted Edgar Award for mystery fiction, is a novel about the moral dilemmas that teenagers face in the uncertain modern world. The story, again based on fact, describes the difficult choices faced by a group of irresponsible high-schoolers who discover that one of their classmates has been murdered—and then try to avoid telling the police for fear that their own drug abuse and vandalism will be exposed as well. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly hailed the book as "a searingly honest portrayal of adolescent society." "In each book I try to do something quite different from the previous work," Levitin once observed. "Themes and characters might repeat themselves, but I believe that my growth as a writer and as a person depends on accepting new challenges, deepening my experience and my efforts."

One theme that recurs in Levitin's work is the importance of her Jewish heritage. Nearly two decades after she wrote Journey to America, Levitin wrote a sequel—Silver Days—that follows the immigrant Platt family as it adjusts to life in the United States. When the mother of the family collapses with grief at news of the continuing Holocaust, she and the others find solace in carrying on the traditions of Judaism in their new homeland. "Our future," the father declares, "must have room in it for the past." The Return, a novel that won major awards in both America and Europe, recounts the saga of an unusual group of refugees who arrived in Israel in the mid-1980s. They were the "black Jews" of Ethiopia, Africans who for centuries had observed Jewish religious traditions in almost complete isolation from fellow Jews and the rest of the world. Facing increasing discrimination in their native land, they were smuggled to their new home by the Israeli government through a secret military airlift. As a former refugee, Levitin was deeply moved by the operation and dropped her other writing projects to create a novel about it, journeying to Israel to interview the Ethiopians herself. Writing in the New York Times Book Review, Sheila Klass called the book "a remarkable fictional account," praised its evocation of Ethiopian Jewish culture, and declared: "The Return is crammed with history, as Sonia Levitin, the author of other distinguished books for young people about Jewish history, here tells the story of an entire people."

Levitin's intense study of the Torah is evident in her historical novel Escape from Egypt, about the Jews' exodus from Egypt as seen through the eyes of Jesse, an Israelite slave, and the half-Egyptian girl Jennat, with whom he falls in love. Questions of love, duty, and faith intermingle with the action of Moses freeing the Israelites from the recalcitrant pharaoh in what a Publishers Weekly contributor labeled a "startling and searching" exploration that would "spur her audience to fresh appraisals of sacred history." "Working on this book was one of the most exhilarating experiences in my career," Levitin once explained, "for it brought together my love of research, the delight of rendering powerful and brilliant episodes described in the Bible, and exploring the questions that have engrossed mankind from the beginning of consciousness."

Levitin continued to explore what it means to be Jewish in her young adult novel The Singing Mountain. Told in alternating chapters by California natives Mitch and his cousin Carlie, the narrative follows Mitch's decision to study at a yeshiva in Jerusalem instead of attending college in the United States. As part of a coming-of-age novel, Levitin objectively presents both Orthodox and Reform Jewish practices. Commentators found much to like about the work. "This plot-driven novel bristles with questions about faith, love, family, acceptance, and self-determination," remarked Booklist critic Karen Simonetti. A Publishers Weekly reviewer added that Levitin uses a light touch and "maintains a remarkable evenhandedness with all her characters … as she presents conflicting points of view without favoring any one of them." The Singing Mountain "succeeds as a realistic and poignant portrayal of a young man's search for God and self, conveying both the struggle and joy of the continuous journey," concluded Lauren Adams in Horn Book.

The Cure, which a Horn Book contributor considered a "compelling interior tale of the little-known true horror that faced ‘the other’ during the Middle Ages," was likened to Lois Lowry's award-winning novel The Giver for its vision of a future society that limits freedoms to ensure social stability. When citizen Gemm 16884 finds himself attracted to music in a society that disallows music, he is considered a deviant and sent into the distant past to be cured of his malady. In fourteenth-century Europe, Gemm witnesses the persecution of Jews, who were made scapegoats for the plague that was terrorizing Europe. A Publishers Weekly critic maintained that the novel "handily combines futuristic science fiction and late-medieval Jewish history," and Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper asserted that "Gemm's experience in Strasbourg is carefully crafted and emotionally evocative." Similarly, a critic for Kirkus Reviews praised Levitin's "unusual mix of science and historical fiction," saying that the novel "pulsates with energy and freshness" and is "packed with spine-tingling historical detail."

Levitin examines another serious topic in Dream Freedom. In this novel, a boy and his classmates learn about present-day slavery in Sudan and work to raise money to buy some of the slaves their freedom. The slaves' own stories are told in alternate chapters. Praising Levitin's "evocative language" and realistic detail, Booklist reviewer Shelle Rosenfeld observed that the author "offers perspective on what really matters: compassion, freedom, and how individuals can make a difference." Kathleen Isaacs expressed similar praise in School Library Journal, hailing the novel as a "moving narrative" that offers an "intense portrayal of the complex patterns of Sudanese society today and the issues surrounding buying back slaves."

In Clem's Chances, fourteen-year-old Clem Fontayne leaves Missouri for California in 1860, determined to find his father. His mother and sister have died, and Clem wants to find the only family he has left. Working for the Pony Express, he moves westward a little at a time. Along the way, he learns of the injustices that Native Americans, Mormons, and blacks have undergone on the frontier. "On his journey," wrote Kathryn Kosiorek in School Library Journal, "Clem grows from a daydreaming boy into a competent young man, and learns much about himself and his charming, intelligent, but irresponsible father." Shelle Rosenfeld in Booklist found that "likable Clem's witty, folksy vernacular makes the story very engaging," and a critic for Publishers Weekly concluded that "Clem's folksy voice and resilient spirit are the novel's most memorable assets."

The Nazi occupation of Denmark during World War II is the backdrop of Room in the Heart. Jewish Julie and Christian Niels are teenagers caught up in the persecution of the Jews in Denmark. Niels distributes underground leaflets that detail Nazi crimes, while Julie and her family try to endure the persecutions they face. The story builds to a boatlift in which many of the country's Jews escape. "What will grab readers," Hazel Rochman wrote in Booklist, "is the picture of young people as survivors and heroic rescuers, the secrets and adventure, the fear and exhilaration." "The dangers of the time are never far from the surface," according to Lisa Prolman in School Library Journal, "and the story has immediacy because of the feelings readers will have for the characters." As a critic for Publishers Weekly concluded, "Levitin succeeds in illuminating a complex set of historical events."

Levitin turned to science fiction in The Goodness Gene, which is set some two hundred years in the future. Nutritional drinks have replaced the eating of actual food, machines provide all emotional and physical pleasure, and the mercy killing of children is commonplace. A benign dictator runs society and is raising his twin sons, Will and Berk, to be his heirs. During a trip to another part of the country, Will discovers that he and his brother are clones of Adolf Hitler. He also encounters a resistance group trying to restore society to its traditional ways, and finds that he sympathizes with their goals. Frances Bradburn, writing in Booklist, found that in The Goodness Gene "Levitin has created a future world only one step removed from our present." "The conclusion," wrote Susan L. Rogers in the School Library Journal, "is decisive, predictable, but still surprisingly moving and thought provoking."

In Strange Relations, fifteen-year-old Marne is looking forward to spending the summer with her Aunt Carole in Hawaii. However, when she arrives, she discovers that Aunt Carole and her family are Hasidic Jews who take their faith very seriously. Marne, raised as a secular Jew, is first taken aback, but over the course of the summer, she comes to respect and appreciate her aunt's way of life. When her best friend comes to Hawaii on vacation, Marne sees clearly how shallow her own way of life has been. Writing for School Library Journal, Susan Riley noted: "It's rare to find such well-developed characters, empathetic and sensitive religious treatment, and carefully crafted plotlines in one novel." "Too few novels give such a revealing, believable view of contemporary Jewish American kids wrestling with tradition and faith," Gillian Engberg wrote in Booklist, and a critic for Publishers Weekly concluded that Marne's "inner turmoil and emotional growth are skillfully and movingly wrought."

In addition to her acclaimed young-adult novels, Levitin has also written several picture books, including the historically themed Nine for California and its sequels, Boom Town and Taking Charge. When Elephant Goes to a Party and When Kangaroo Goes to School use humorous situations to present basic manners and social skills, while Junk Man's Daughter tells of an immigrant family that comes to America from Europe. In Levitin's story, Papa has promised that the streets are made of gold in America, but young Hanna despairs when the family finds itself living in poverty. Then Papa finds a profitable business: gathering and selling junk in the streets. At first the family gathers junk on foot, then they buy a horse-drawn wagon, and finally a truck. According to a critic for Kirkus Reviews, "Levitin's tale of a hardworking immigrant family pulling itself up to prosperity through hard times is inspiring."

Levitin once commented: "As time goes by I discover, somewhat to my surprise, that writing does not get any easier. It is still demanding and difficult work; at times I find it frustrating. I have a recurring dream where I stand before a large, oddly shaped room full of students, called to lecture to them, but the configuration of the room is such that I cannot possibly retain eye contact or voice contact with everyone. This is my struggle: I want to call out, reach everyone; I want to speak to them and to be heard. This is my mission, this is my goal with my books, to be a mind-bridge between people, among peoples of various colors, types, persuasions. Why else do I possess this intense interest about people and their past, their present desires and goals, their inclinations to do good, or to do evil?

"My writing is changing—it should with time. I am working with the same topics and themes, but delving deeper, I think, into my own experiences and beliefs, using them and blending them with fact and imagination to create stories that I hope will have the power to live and to persuade. I admit it, persuasion is surely the aim of the writer. Mine is to persuade beautifully, with clarity and in honesty. This demands self-examination and self-knowledge, both of which are attained only through a lifetime of effort—and then one is ever doubtful.

"All this sounds very serious; writing must also be fun. This is what I convey to my students. It must flow, laugh, sing, and dance with you. One is a writer purely by choice and from the love of it. It is well to remember that, and to glory in the independence and the sheer pleasure of being able to think and create and call it ‘work.’

"Ideas abound. Right now, six various projects fill my desk space, and several more whisper in my mind for later development. One needs time, self-discipline, and a quiet, contemplative spirit in order to separate the valuable from the dross. I do take time to be silent each day, to meditate and sort out what is important, and what I shall use, how it fits together, what the universe has to tell me. Mysterious? No—it is simply—prayer.

"I should add, and not in jest, that it is very important to choose the right mate if one wishes to be a creative writer. I have been endowed with wonderful luck in that area. My husband knows when to listen well and to encourage, when to stand aside and say nothing, when to commiserate, when to celebrate with me. He sees my work as an important link between what the present reality is for us, and what we may yet leave behind. He understands the value of ideas and ideals. I know he would love me as well if I never wrote another book; the pressure is all mine, from within, the way it should be."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 53, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 17, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1981.

St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers, second edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 2, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1986.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 1994, Ilene Cooper, review of Escape from Egypt, p. 1595; July, 1994, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Adam's War, p. 1949; February 15, 1998, Lauren Peterson, review of Boom Town, p. 1020; September 15, 1998, Karen Simonetti, review of The Singing Mountain, p. 221; April 15, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of Taking Charge, p. 1536; June 1, 1999, Ilene Cooper, review of The Cure, p. 1814; May 1, 2001, Amy Brandt, review of When Elephant Goes to a Party, p. 1691; November 1, 2000, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Dream Freedom, p. 526; September 15, 2001, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Clem's Chances, p. 223; February 15, 2002, Whitney Scott, review of The Cure, p. 1039; November 1, 2003, Hazel Rochman, review of Room in the Heart, p. 490; September 1, 2005, Frances Bradburn, review of The Goodness Gene, p. 111; June 1, 2007, Gillian Engberg, review of Strange Relations, p. 71; December 1, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of Junk Man's Daughter, p. 48.

Book Report, September-October, 1999, Ron Marinucci, review of The Cure, p. 60; May, 2001, Ruie Chehak, review of Dream Freedom, p. 60.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January, 1999, Janice M. Del Negro, review of The Singing Mountain, p. 173.

Children's Bookwatch, August, 2007, review of Strange Relations.

Horn Book, March-April, 1998, Margaret A. Bush, review of Boom Town, p. 215; November, 1998, Lauren Adams, review of The Singing Mountain, p. 734; March, 1999, Margaret A. Bush, review of Taking Charge, p. 196; May, 1999, review of The Cure, p. 332; November-December, 2001, Betty Carter, review of Clem's Chances, p. 753; January-February, 2004, Susan P. Bloom, review of Room in the Heart, p. 85.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 1999, review of The Cure; September 1, 2001, review of Clem's Chances, p. 1294; October 1, 2003, review of Room in the Heart, p. 1226; September 1, 2005, review of The Goodness Gene, p. 976; May 15, 2007, review of Strange Relations; September 15, 2007, review of Junk Man's Daughter.

Kliatt, January, 2002, Claire Rosser, review of Clem's Chances, p. 6; September, 2005, Claire Rosser, review of The Goodness Gene, p. 10; May, 2007, Claire Rosser, review of Strange Relations, p. 15.

New York Times Book Review, May 17, 1987, Sheila Klass, "Waiting for Operation Moses," p. 36; May 17, 1998, Anne Scott MacLeod, "And No Television Either," p. 23.

Publishers Weekly, May 13, 1988, review of Incident at Loring Groves, p. 278; April 19, 1993, review of Annie's Promise, p. 63; March 28, 1994, review of Escape from Egypt, p. 98; June 13, 1994, review of Adam's War, p. 65; September 9, 1996, review of Nine for California, p. 83; September 7, 1998, review of The Singing Mountain, p. 96; April 12, 1999, review of The Cure, p. 76; November 6, 2000, review of Dream Freedom, p. 92; October 29, 2001, review of Clem's Chances, p. 64; September 8, 2003, review of Room in the Heart, p. 77; June 25, 2007, review of Strange Relations, p. 61.

Reading Today, October, 2000, Lynne T. Burke, review of Dream Freedom, p. 32.

School Library Journal, March, 1998, Steven Engelfried, review of Boom Town, p. 182; November, 1998, Elisabeth Palmer Abarbanel, review of The Singing Mountain, pp. 122-123; April, 1999, Beth Tegart, review of Taking Charge, p. 102; October, 2000, Kathleen Isaacs, review of Dream Freedom, p. 162; June, 2001, Patricia Pearl Dole, review of When Elephant Goes to a Party, p. 124; October, 2001, Kathryn Kosiorek, review of Clem's Chances, p. 165; December, 2001, Francisca Goldsmith, review of The Cure, p. 77; December, 2003, Lisa Prolman, review of Room in the Heart, p. 156; December, 2005, Susan L. Rogers, review of The Goodness Gene, p. 148; May, 2007, Susan Riley, review of Strange Relations, p. 138; April, 2008, Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, review of Junk Man's Daughter, p. 115.