MALVASI, Meg Greene

(Meg Greene)

PERSONAL: Female. Education: Lindenwood College, B.S., 1977; University of Nebraska—Omaha, M.A., 1980; University of Vermont, M.S., 1989.

ADDRESSES: Home—13803 Sterlings Bridge Road, Midlothian, VA 23112. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Center for Archaeological Research, College of William and Mary, architectural historian, 1997-99; freelance writer, 1994—.

AWARDS, HONORS: Honor Book Award for social studies book, grades 7-12, Society of School Librarians International, 1999, for Slave Young, Slave Long: A History of American Slavery; Buttons, Bones, and the Organ Grinder's Monkey: Tales of Historical Archaeology was named a Best Book for Teens, New York Public Library, 2001.

WRITINGS:

"GALAXY OF SUPERSTARS" SERIES; AS MEG GREENE

Lauryn Hill, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 1999.

Matt Damon, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2000.

Will Smith, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

"BUILDING HISTORY" SERIES; AS MEG GREENE

The Kremlin, Lucent Books/Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

The Eiffel Tower, Lucent Books/Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

"IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA" SERIES; AS MEG GREENE

The Russian Americans, Lucent Books/Gale (Detroit, MI), 2002.

The Greek Americans, Lucent Books/Gale (Detroit, MI), 2004.

Polish Americans, Lucent Books/Gale (Detroit, MI), 2004.

NONFICTION; AS MEG GREENE (EXCEPT AS NOTED)

Legends of Ice Hockey: Peter Forsberg, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 1998.

Slave Young, Slave Long: A History of American Slavery, Lerner Books (Minneapolis, MN), 1999.

Your Government and How It Works: The DEA, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2001.

Revolutionary War Heroes: Nathaniel Greene, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2001.

Buttons, Bones, and the Organ Grinder's Monkey: Tales of Historical Archaeology, Linnet Books (North Haven, CT), 2001.

Revolutionary War Heroes: Thaddeus Kosciuzko, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

Famous Figures of the Civil War: Jeb Stuart, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

Jacques Cartier, Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Careers in the National Guards' Search and Rescue Units, Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.U.S. Warplanes: The B-52 Stratofortress, Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

(As Meg Green Malvasi) Pope John Paul II: A Biography, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2003.

American Women: 1900-2000, Bluewood Books (San Francisco, CA), 2003.

Louis Sachar, Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Into the Land of Freedom: A History of Reconstruction, Lerner Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2004.

Contributing editor of "History for Children," Suite101.com; "A Day in the Life," PBS Kids!; and architectural articles for Bella Online. Contributor to textbooks and reference books, and to periodicals, including Southern Historian, North Dakota History, Historian, and Women's Studies International Forum.

ADAPTATIONS: Matt Damon was released on audio-cassette by Recorded Books (Prince Frederick, MD), 2001.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Primary Sources of World Culture: Japan, Rosen Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Meg Greene Malvasi has written widely under her maiden name Meg Greene. Listing biographies, history, architecture, and archaeology among the topics she has covered, her books include series titles as well as stand-alone works. She is also a frequent contributor to the children's history magazine Cobblestone. Malvasi has penned biographies of such contemporary celebrities as actors Matt Damon and Will Smith, and novelist Louis Sachar; and biographies of such historical figures as Catholic Pope John Paul II, explorer Jacques Cartier and American Revolutionary war hero Thaddeus Kosciuzko. In addition, Malvasi has published a collective biography of twentieth-century women and contributed two books to the "Immigrants in America" series: The Russian Americans, with its "clear, lively text" to quote Diane S. Marton of School Library Journal, and The Greek Americans.

Malvasi has also contributed titles to several other series, including The Eiffel Tower and The Russian Kremlin to the "Building History" series. Two of Malvasi's stand-alone titles, Slave Young, Slave Long: The American Slave Experience and Buttons, Bones, and the Organ-Grinder's Monkey: Tales of Historical Archaeology, not only caught reviewers' attention, but earned her accolades. Slave Young, Slave Long, which integrates narrative with many first-hand accounts of slaves and masters, earned the Honor Book Award for a high school social studies book for grades seven through twelve, while Buttons, Bones, and the Organ Grinder's Monkey, about historical archaeology, was named a Best Book for Teens by the New York Public Library. Booklist's Hazel Rochman found Slave Young, Slave Long an "excellent, accessible introduction" written in "quiet, direct prose." The latter book, with its colorful title, discusses how archaeological findings help historians assess history. Using a mystery format, the author describes how archaeologists work. She gives the following examples to illustrate their methods: locating the Jamestown Fort, retrieving the ship LaBelle from the bottom of the Texas Gulf, discovering slave artifacts at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantation, reassessing the events of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and determining the true nature of the Five Points Neighborhood in New York City. Among enthusiasts of Buttons, Bones, and the Organ-Grinder's Monkey were Booklist's Carolyn Phelan, who described it as lively and informative, and Book Report reviewer Kathy Frederick, who praised the "snappy, concise style" with which Malvasi presents her information.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Slave Young, Slave Long: The American Slave Experience, p. 1404; October 1, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of Buttons, Bones, and the Organ-Grinder's Monkey: Tales of Historical Archaeology, p. 316.

Book Report, May-June, 2002, Kathy Fredrick, review of Buttons, Bones, and the Organ-Grinder's Monkey, p. 60.

School Library Journal, June, 2001, Ann W. Moore, review of The Eiffel Tower, p. 174; September, 2001, Elizabeth Talbot, review of The Russian Kremlin, p. 246; January, 2002, Kathleen Isaacs, review of Buttons, Bones, and the Organ-Grinder's Monkey, pp. 157-158; June, 2002, Marlene Gawron, review of Thaddeus Kosciuszko: Polish General and Patriot, pp. 158-159; July, 2002, Diane S. Marton, review of The Russian Americans, p. 129.