Murphy, Jim 1947–

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Murphy, Jim 1947–

(Tim Murphy)

Personal

Born James John Murphy, September 25, 1947, in Newark, NJ; son of James K. (a certified public accountant) and Helen Irene (a bookkeeper and artist) Murphy; married Elaine A. Kelso (a company president), December 12, 1970 (marriage ended); married Allison Blank (a television producer, writer, and editor); children (second marriage): Michael, Benjamin. Education: Rutgers University, B.A., 1970; graduate study at Radcliffe College, 1970. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, reading, gardening, collecting old postcards of ships and trains.

Addresses

Home—Upper Montclair, NJ. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book author. Seabury Press, Inc. (now Clarion Books), New York, NY, 1970-77, began as editorial secretary in juvenile department, became managing editor; freelance writer and editor, 1977—. Worked as a freelance editor for publishers such as Crowell, Crown, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and Macmillan. Formerly worked in construction in New York and New Jersey.

Member

Asian Night Six Club (founding member).

Awards, Honors

Children's Choice designation, International Reading Association (IRA), and Best Book of the Year designation, School Library Journal, both 1979, both for Weird and Wacky Inventions; Children's Choice designation, IRA, and Children's Book of the Year designation, Child Study Association, both 1980, both for Harold Thinks Big; Best Book for Young Adults designation, American Library Association (ALA), 1982, for Death Run; Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children designation, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)/Children's Book Council (CBC), 1984, for Tractors; Children's Choice designation, IRA, 1988, for The Last Dinosaur; Recommended Book for Reluctant Readers, ALA, and International Best Book designation, Society of School Librarians, both 1990, both for Custom Car; Golden Kite Award for nonfiction, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), 1990, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award nomination, 1991-92, William Allen White Children's Book Award nomination, 1992-93, Children's Book of the Year designation, Bank Street College of Education, and Best Book of the Year designation, School Library Journal, all for The Boys' War; Nevada Young Readers Award, and Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children, NSTA/CBC, both 1992, both for The Call of the Wolves; Pick of the Lists designation, American Bookseller, 1992, for Backyard Bear; Golden Kite Award for nonfiction, 1992, Editors' Choice designation, Booklist, and Best Books of the Year designation, School Library Journal, all 1992, all for The Long Road to Gettysburg; Orbis Pictus Award, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Jefferson Cup, Virginia Librarians, and Best Books of the Year designation, School Library Journal, all 1994, all for Across America on an Emigrant Train; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for nonfiction, 1995, Orbis Pictus Award, Jefferson Cup, and Newbery Medal Honor Book designation, ALA, all 1996, all for The Great Fire; Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Association of Library Services to Children, Jefferson Cup Award, and ALA Notable Book and Best Books for Young People designations, all 2000, all for Blizzard!; National Book Award finalist, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, ALA Notable Children's Book designation, YALSA Best Book for Young Adults designation, NCTE Orbis Pictus Award, and Newbery Honor designation, all 2004, all for An American Plague; ALA Best Book for Young Adults designation, 2004, for Inside the Alamo; nominations for several regional awards.

Writings

NONFICTION; FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Weird and Wacky Inventions, Crown (New York, NY), 1978.

Two Hundred Years of Bicycles, Harper (New York, NY), 1983.

The Indy 500, Clarion (New York, NY), 1983.

Baseball's All-Time All-Stars, Clarion (New York, NY), 1984.

Tractors: From Yesterday's Steam Wagons to Today's Turbo-charged Giants, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1984.

The Custom Car Book, Clarion (New York, NY), 1985.

Guess Again: More Weird and Wacky Inventions (sequel to Weird and Wacky Inventions), Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1985.

Napoleon Lajoie: Modern Baseball's First Superstar, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1985.

Custom Car: A Nuts-and-Bolts Guide to Creating One, Clarion (New York, NY), 1989.

The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk about the Civil War, Clarion (New York, NY), 1990.

The Long Road to Gettysburg, Clarion (New York, NY), 1992.

Across America on an Emigrant Train, Clarion (New York, NY), 1993.

Into the Deep Forest with Henry David Thoreau, illustrated by Kate Kiesler, Clarion (New York, NY), 1995.

The Great Fire, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy, Clarion (New York, NY), 1995.

Gone A-Whaling: The Lure of the Sea and the Hunt for the Great Whale, Clarion (New York, NY), 1998.

Pick and Shovel Poet: The Journeys of Pascal D'Angelo, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.

Blizzard!: The Storm That Changed America, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, Clarion (New York, NY), 2003.

Inside the Alamo, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2003.

The Real Benedict Arnold, Clarion (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor of articles to Cricket magazine. Some of author's work appears under the name Tim Murphy.

PICTURE BOOKS

Rat's Christmas Party, illustrated by Dick Gackenbach, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1979.

Harold Thinks Big, illustrated by Susanna Natti, Crown (New York, NY), 1980.

The Last Dinosaur, illustrated by Mark Alan Weatherby, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1988.

The Call of the Wolves, illustrated by Mark Alan Weatherby, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1989.

Backyard Bear, illustrated by Jeffrey Greene, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

Dinosaur for a Day, illustrated by Mark Alan Weatherby, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

Fergus and the Night-Demon: An Irish Ghost Story, illustrated by John Manders, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2006.

FICTION; FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Death Run (novel), Clarion (New York, NY), 1982.

Night Terrors (short stories), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1993.

West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 (novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863 (novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher (novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

The Journal of Brian Doyle: A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship (novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 2004.

Desperate Journey (novel), Scholastic Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Adaptations

The Great Fire and The Boys' War were released on audio cassette by Recorded Books in 1998 and 1999, respectively.

Sidelights

Called "one of the best writers of nonfiction for young people today" by a reviewer in Voice of Youth Advocates, Jim Murphy writes on a variety of topics, among them sports, transportation, inventions, dinosaurs, animal life, mechanical devices, and historical figures. In addition, he has created picture books such as Fergus and the Night-Demon: An Irish Ghost Story, that appeal to younger children, as well as historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction, and a collection of horror stories for teen readers. A prolific writer, Murphy is perhaps best known for his books on American military history and natural disasters, including well-received works focusing on the U.S. Civil War, Chicago's Great Fire of 1871, and the blizzard that paralyzed the northeastern United States in 1888.

Murphy has also written several works that draw on autobiographies or journals to create larger perspectives on such topics as the American Revolution, the American West, the immigrant experience, and the impact of industrialization on the environment. These books feature the writings of famous authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry David Thoreau as well as lesser-known writers such as poet Pascal D'Angelo and teenage soldier Joseph Plumb Martin. Characteristically, Murphy begins by drawing on the diaries, memoirs, journals, and letters of such people, positioning the writer in the events he describes. He embroiders his narrative with fictional details such as thoughts and emotions, descriptions of the physical surroundings, and discussions of the social conditions and prejudices of the time. Pairing these things with Murphy's insightful analyses insights, each work brings to life a particular moment in history wherein ordinary people were involved in dramatic events. Murphy also frequently includes eyewitness accounts by young people, demonstrating that children have made valuable contributions to history. Photographs, lithographs, engravings, and other archival materials as well as original art illustrate these titles. As a St. James Guide to Children's Writers essayist noted, in his book for young readers Murphy "has consistently made fact more interesting than any fiction."

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Murphy was raised in the nearby suburb of Kearny, where "my friends and I did all the normal things—played baseball and football endlessly, explored abandoned factories, walked the railroad tracks to the vast Jersey Meadowlands, and, in general, cooked up as much mischief as we could." Murphy and his friends also enjoyed exploring Newark and New York City, both of which were close by, and playing games of "let's pretend."

Murphy was an indifferent reader as a boy, partially because he had an eye condition that went undiagnosed until he was nine or ten. He once commented, "I hardly cracked open a book willingly until a high school teacher announced that we could ‘absolutely, positively not read’ Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. I promptly read it, and every other book I could get ahold of that I felt would shock my teacher. I also began writing, mostly poetry, but with an occasional story or play tossed in there." Murphy became a voracious reader, moving from historical fiction and mysteries to poetry to books about medicine or history as his interests shifted during middle school.

In college, Murphy's interests centered on history, English, geology, art history, and track. After graduating from Rutgers, he briefly attended graduate school, then returned home and worked at a variety of construction jobs. At the same time, he was looking for a job in publishing, especially in the area of children's books. After thirty or forty interviews, he was hired as a secretarial assistant by the Seabury Press (now Clarion Books), where he learned about all stages of book writing and production. After rising to the position of managing editor at Clarion, Murphy realized that he wanted to write his own books. In 1977, he left Clarion to become a freelance writer.

In Murphy's first published book, 1978's Weird and Wacky Inventions, he mined the files of the U.S. Patent Office to present young readers with a selection of the often-bizarre gadgets and contraptions that have been registered since the 1700s. The inventions include such creations as a dimple-maker, a bird diaper, an automatic hat-tipper, a portable fire escape, a portable bathtub, jumping shoes, and the safety pin. Together with a reproduction of the picture that originally accompanied each invention, Murphy asks readers to guess its use; the answer and a further explanation are given on the following page. Final chapters discuss how one invention leads to another and detail the process of getting a patent. A reviewer in Publishers Weekly wrote that "the reaction of kids to an aptly named book will range from smiles to giggles to guffaws," and Barbara Elleman, writing in Booklist, called Weird and Wacky Inventions "a browser's delight." Continuing the theme, Guess Again: More Weird and Wacky Inventions uses a similar format to introduce readers to a coffin with an escape hatch, a trap for tapeworms, and training pants for dogs. A critic for Publishers Weekly dubbed Guess Again "just as wacky as its predecessor," and in Appraisal Arrolyn H. Vernon concluded that Murphy's book "should be fun for those who enjoy the cryptic, especially when imaginative visualization is exercised."

On of Murphy's first books geared for young children, The Last Dinosaur is a fact-based fictional speculation on the passing of the age of dinosaurs. Set sixty-five million years ago, the book features paintings by Mark Alan Weatherby. In the book, a female Triceratops is left alone when the only males in her herd are killed in a fight with a T-Rex. After she abandons her nest to escape a forest fire, her eggs are eaten by some small shrewlike mammals. On the last page, the triceratops pads away, in search of food and perhaps another herd. Another collaboration with Weatherby, Dinosaur for a Day, follows a mother hypsilophodon and her eight children on their search for food. When the family encounters a deinonychus pack that charges their clearing, the mother must outrun the carnivores and divert them from her babies. Janet Hickman, writing in Language Arts, called The Last Dinosaur "surprisingly poignant," adding that "it's quite an accomplishment to make a sixty-five-million-year-old setting seem immediate." Hickman deemed Murphy's book "a welcome companion for … informational books that examine possible reasons for the dinosaurs' extinction," and Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books contributor Betsy Hearne concluded that "the scenario certainly renders the end of the Age of Dinosaurs more immediate than many nonfiction accounts." Dinosaur for a Day prompted Nicholas Hotton III to write in Science Books & Films that "this very attractive book is simple in concept, well executed, and gorgeously illustrated."

Weatherby also provided the illustrations for The Call of the Wolves. Here Murphy's story follows a young wolf that becomes separated from its pack while hunting for caribou in the Arctic. Trapped by illegal hunters who shoot at it from a plane, the wolf plunges over a cliff, injuring its leg. A painful and dangerous journey through a snowstorm through another pack's territory follows as the injured creature makes its way home. Hearne noted of The Call of the Wolves that, "with an involving text and arresting art, this is a nature narrative that commands attention without ever becoming sentimental or anthropomorphic." A critic in Kirkus Reviews dubbed Murphy's book an "effective plea for respect for and conservation of an often misunderstood fellow creature."

Nineteenth-century history and the U.S. Civil War have yielded a wealth of book ideas for Murphy. One of his most highly praised works, The Boys'War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk about the Civil War, incorporates eyewitness accounts by soldiers aged twelve to sixteen, a group that made up as much as twenty percent of the total number of enlisted men, to present a unique view of the War between the States. Inspiration for the book came from the journal of a fifteen-year-old Union soldier that Murphy found in a library. The book covers battles, living conditions, imprisonment, suffering and death, the mixed emotions brought on by returning home following war, and the psychological effects of war on these young people. Writing in Voice of Youth Advocates, Joanne Johnson stated that "the excerpts from the diaries and letters written home by this group of young men" make the Civil War "come alive in a way that the diaries and letters of adults may not." Margaret A. Bush, writing in Horn Book, noted that "it is startling to learn of the large numbers of very young soldiers whose lives were given to the war, and this

well-researched and readable account provides fresh insight into the human cost of a pivotal event in United States history." A St. James Guide to Children's Literature essayist observed that, with The Boys' War, the author's mix of primary sources and a compelling, informative text has become characteristic of the author, marking "Murphy's most important contribution to children's and young adult literature."

Murphy also focuses on the U.S. Civil War in The Long Road to Gettysburg, which features excerpts from the journals of nineteen-year-old Confederate lieutenant John Dooley and seventeen-year-old Union corporal Thomas Galway, who were involved in one of the war's most pivotal battles. Beginning and ending with the dedication ceremony at which President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Murphy recounts the battle from the point of view of both young men. The book's text does not spare readers the grim details of the battle; in his epilogue, the author outlines the postwar lives of Dooley and Galway. Writing in Horn Book, Anita Silvey commented that The Long Road to Gettysburg draws on Murphy's "fine skills as an information writer—clarity of detail, conciseness, understanding of his age group, and ability to find the drama appealing to readers—to frame a well-crafted account of a single battle in the war." Carolyn Phelan, writing in Booklist, maintained that the inclu- sion of "firsthand accounts … give the narrative immediacy and personalize the horrors of battle," and described the book as "an important addition to the Civil War shelf." Writing in School Library Journal, Elizabeth M. Reardon concluded that, "by focusing on these two ordinary soldiers, readers get a new perspective on this decisive and bloody battle."

Murphy turns to an interesting facet of nineteenth-century history in Across America on an Emigrant Train, an informational books directed to young adults. The 1879 journey of twenty-nine-year-old Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson is the basis by which Murphy explores the development of the transcontinental railroad and the growth of the westward movement in the 1800s. Stevenson traveled by boat and train from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Monterey, California, to visit his friend Fanny Osbourne, an American woman who had become gravely ill with brain fever. On his journey, the writer traveled with other newcomers to the United States, immigrants who faced cramped, unsanitary conditions on the train but were nonetheless filled with hope. While quoting Stevenson's point of view, Murphy adds historical context and discusses topics such as the roles of various ethnic groups in building the railroads, how the railroads destroyed forever traditional Native-American life, and the real nature of the "Wild West." He ends the book with a joyful reunion between Stevenson and Osbourne, who recovered from her illness and eventually became his wife; an epilogue summarizes Stevenson's subsequent rise to fame and brief last years. Noting Murphy's "delightfully effective narrative device," a Kirkus Reviews critic called Across America on an Emigrant Train a "fascinating, imaginatively structured account that brings the experience vividly to life in all its details; history at its best." In School Library Journal, Diane S. Marton called the book "a readable and valuable contribution to literature concerning expansion into the American West." Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman stated that the facts and feelings Murphy represents "tell a compelling story of adventure and failure, courage and cruelty, enrichment and oppression" and "revitalizes the myths of the West."

In 1871, the city of Chicago was devastated by a conflagration that killed 300 people and destroyed 17,500 buildings. In The Great Fire Murphy explores the causes and effects of this disaster, one of the most extensive in American history. Combining details of the fire and its damage with personal anecdotes from newspaper accounts and quotes from historians and commentators, Murphy suggests that the fire could have been contained. He also argues that factors such as architectural and human errors, the dry weather, the high winds, and the city fire brigade's lack of organization contributed to the ultimate tragedy. The author also notes the discrimination that surfaced as a result of the blaze. Rich residents, many of whom lost their homes, were quick to blame the city's poor immigrant population for the fire; as a result, the poor were forced into slums or out of Chicago permanently. Writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Elizabeth Bush noted that Murphy's account "offers not only the luridly enticing details disaster junkies crave, but also a more complex analysis … than is usually offered in children's history books." Frances Bradburn also praised the work in Booklist, calling Murphy's text "dramatic" and "riveting" before concluding that The Great Fire "will automatically draw readers with its fiery cover and illustrations of disasters." Writing in School Library Journal, Susannah Price added that the book "reads like an adventure/survival novel and is just as hard to put down"; in fact, according to Price, The Great Fire is "history writing as its best."

With Blizzard!: The Storm That Changed America Murphy gives an account of the snowstorm that hit the northeastern United States in March of 1888. Drawing on newspaper articles, letters, journals, and histories of the period, he describes the freak blizzard from the perspectives of people of various ages and social positions, some of whom survived the storm and others who did not. He also discusses the political and social conditions of the time and outlines how life in the United States was changed following the storm: for example, the effects of the blizzard led to the founding of the U.S. Weather Bureau and to the development of subways in New York City. Writing in Booklist, Jean Franklin called Blizzard! "an example of stellar nonfiction," and in Children's Literature Review a critic wrote that

Murphy's "clear and even-handed approach to describing the details makes this a page-turner." Writing in School Library Journal, Andrew Medlar concluded by calling Blizzard! "a superb piece of writing and history."

Moving half a century back in time, to February of 1836, Inside the Alamo benefits from the "thorough research and solid narrative style" that Booklist reviewer Kay Weisman cited as characteristic of Murphy. Here readers are transported to the rustic mission at San Antonio de Bexar, where a group of less than 200 Texans led by Lieutenant Colonel William Travis and including Jim Bowie and Davie Crockett held off a Mexican military force led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana for thirteen days before being overrun. Murphy discusses the complex political changes that precipitated this stand-off, an event that took place on Mexican soil as part of the Texas War for Independence. Noting the myths and legends that have grown up around this historic event, Weisman noted that Murphy takes care to address such elements, "allowing readers to judge where the truth may lie and giving them insight into how historical research works." A Publishers Weekly contributor commended Murphy for "ably captur[ing] … the mood of suspense" that existed up to the Mexican Army's attack, and providing "a compelling behind-the-scenes look at the defeat that, ironically, helped create the state of Texas." "This is history writing at its finest," proclaimed a Kirkus Reviews writer of Inside the Alamo, the critic citing the book's "lively prose, sidebars, profiles of key players," and "abundance" of photographs, paintings, and other visual images.

Murphy moves still earlier in history in A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy and An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. When yellow fever overran Philadelphia in 1793, the disease killed thousands and caused a mass exodus from that city. With little knowledge of the disease—which is in fact carried by mosquitoes—and fearing its spread, the governments of surrounding states ordered their militias to prevent the city's frightened residents to enter their own borders. In An American Plague Murphy places the Philadelphia crisis within the context of its age, and discusses the sometimes humorous ways people attempted to guard against the disease as well as the way both people and governments responded to the catastrophic illness and resulting hysteria. Calling the book "a mesmerizing, macabre account that will make readers happy they live in the 21st century," a Kirkus Reviews writer added that Murphy also introduces many of the individuals who played an important part in dealing with the tragedy, and his assessment of the contemporary accounts upon which he draws present readers with "a valuable lesson in reading and writing history."

Murphy's first novel for young adults, Death Run, was published in 1982. The story, which has a contemporary setting and is told from different points of view, out-

lines how sophomore Brian Halihan, hanging out in the park with three older schoolmates, is involved in the death of star basketball player Bill Jankowski. When the boys see Bill coming through the park with his basketball, they tease and taunt him; gang leader Roger then slams Bill's basketball against his face, knocking him down. Bill has an epileptic seizure, then a burst aneurysm. Brian wants to report the incident, but is talked out of doing so by Roger. Brian becomes obsessed with Bill's death and begins hanging around the dead boy's home. Meanwhile, a detective suspects that Bill's death was not an accident. Writing in the ALAN Review, Tony Manna noted that "the psychology of detection and the anatomy of fear … makes Murphy's first novel such an enticing read. Despite his inclination to tell more than he shows, Murphy is a master at creating tension and sustaining the complex emotions of the hunter and the hunted." Stephanie Zvirin, reviewing Death Run for Booklist, concluded that "few stories of this genre are written specifically for a teenage audience, and Murphy handles his competently, keeping a firm hold on tough talk, including plenty of fast-action sequences, and providing just enough character motivation to fill out the plot."

Moving to historical fiction, Murphy often draws on the same themes that he deals with in his nonfiction writ- ing. Set in the late 1840s, Desperate Journey focuses on a family who works a boat along the Erie Canal in upstate New York. Taking place later in the century, West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 is one of several books Murphy has contributed to the "My Name Is America" series. West to a Land of Plenty describes how a family of Italian immigrants journeys to the northwest territory by train and covered wagon. Written in the form of diary entries by fourteen-year-old Teresa and her younger sister Netta, the novel outlines the family's experiences as they go west to settle in an Idaho town optimistically called Opportunity. Teresa, the main narrator, describes how her family survived the arduous journey, which includes sickness, danger, and, for Netta, even death. Throughout her narrative, Teresa grows: she has her first romance and also shows courage and presence of mind when she saves her grandmother from thieves. In an epilogue dated 1952, Teresa speaks of her happiness with her life, addressing herself to her late sister. Janet Gillen, writing in School Library Journal, noted of Teresa that, "reminiscent of a Willa Cather heroine," Murphy's protagonist "is resourceful, strong-minded, and intelligent." For Bush, reviewing West to a Land of Plenty for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, "what could have been merely another overland trail story is considerably enriched by Murphy's attention to the rapid and profound Americanization of these fictional Italian immigrants."

Murphy continues his diary approach in The Journal of James Edward Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863, which finds a sixteen-year-old private serving in the New York Volunteers considered to be the "Jonah," or bad-luck charm, of his outfit. Assigned, nonetheless, to be the historian of his company, James describes infantry life, the horrors of battle and of the medical practices of the period, and his own thoughts and emotions. He loses several friends to death and desertion. When he is lost behind enemy lines, James is hidden from Confederate soldiers by a slave family whom he has befriended. Throughout the course of the novel, the young man matures, learns the meaning of friendship, and receives a promotion for doing a good job. Writing in Catholic Library World, Carol L. Kennedy called The Journal of James Edmond Pease an "excellent piece of historical fiction." In Booklist, Roger Leslie concluded that, despite ambiguities, the diary-like text "is very well written, and Pease's unassuming personality keeps him a vivid, accessible narrator throughout." Other contributions to the "My Name Is America" series include My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher and The Journal of Brian Doyle: A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship.

In assessing his career, Murphy once wrote, "The nonfiction projects let me research subjects that I'm really interested in; they provide an opportunity to tell kids some unusual bits of information. The fiction lets me get out some of the thoughts and opinions that rattle around in my head." "I view research as a kind of detective work where I try to discover all of the secrets about any subject," he commented on the Scholastic Web site." "I really enjoy taking topics that might seem commonplace or like they've been done before and finding new ways to tell the story of the event," he added. "I do it specifically for young readers because I hope that in some way my enthusiasm will get them to read more about the subject." "Life is made up of many kinds of journeys," he concluded in his online commentary. "Some are physical, like moving from one home to another, but most are interior journeys of the heart or soul. The important thing is to face each with a positive attitude. And to try and learn as much about yourself and other as you can along the way. Oh, yes—and to have fun while you are experiencing all of these things."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, Volume 10, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2000.

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

Roberts, Patricia, Taking Humor Seriously in Children's Literature, Scarecrow Press (Metuchen, NJ), 1997.

St. James Guide to Children's Writers, 5th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

PERIODICALS

ALAN Review, fall, 1982, Tony Manna, review of Death Run, p. 21.

Appraisal, winter, 1987, Arrolyn H. Vernon, review of Guess Again: More Weird and Wacky Inventions, pp. 48-49.

Booklist, September 1, 1978, Barbara Elleman, review of Weird and Wacky Inventions, p. 52; May 1, 1982, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Death Run, p. 1153; May 15, 1992, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Long Road to Gettysburg, p. 1677; Hazel Rochman, review of Across America on an Emigrant Train; June 1, 1995, Frances Bradburn, review of The Great Fire, p. 1757; November 15, 1998, Roger Leslie, review of The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier, p. 581; February 15, 2001, Jean Franklin, review of Blizzard!: The Storm That Changed America, p. 1135; March 14, 2003, Kay Weisman, review of Inside the Alamo, p. 1323; September 1, 2006, Abby Nolan, review of Fergus and the Night-Demon: An Irish Ghost Story, p. 138.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June, 1988, Betsy Hearne, review of The Last Dinosaur, p. 213; September, 1989, Betsy Hearne, review of The Call of the Wolves, p. 13; May, 1995, Elizabeth Bush, review of The Great Fire, pp. 297-298; March, 1998, Elizabeth Bush, review of West to a Land of Plenty: TheDiary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, p. 253; December, 2000, review of Pick and Shovel Poet: The Journeys of Pascal D'Angelo, p. 156; January, 2001, review of Blizzard!, p. 190; September, 2003, Elizabeth Bush, review of Inside the Alamo, p. 25.

Catholic Library World, June, 1999, Carol L. Kennedy, review of The Journal of James Edmond Pease, p. 64.

Horn Book, January-February, 1991, Margaret A. Bush, review of The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk about the Civil War, pp. 86-87; July-August, 1992, Anita Silvey, review of The Long Road to Gettysburg, pp. 469-470; November, 1998, Kristi Beavin, review of The Great Fire, p. 768; January, 2001, reviews of Blizzard!, p. 113, and Pick and Shovel Poet, p. 114; July-August, 2003, Betty Carter, review of Inside the Alamo, p. 484.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 1989, review of The Call of the Wolves, p. 1674; November 15, 1993, review of Across America on an Emigrant Train, p. 1465; October 15, 2001, review of My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, p. 1489; March 1, 2003, review of Inside the Alamo, p. 393; April 1, 2003, review of An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, p. 538; September 1, 2006, reviews of Fergus and the Night-Demon, p. 909, and Desperate Journey, p. 910; September 1, 2007, review of The Real Benedict Arnold.

Language Arts, September, 1988, Janet Hickman, review of The Last Dinosaur, p. 500.

Publishers Weekly, July 17, 1978, review of Weird and Wacky Inventions, p. 168; June 27, 1986, review of Guess Again, p. 97; January 25, 1993, review of Backyard Bear, p. 87; March 13, 1995, review of Into the Deep Forest with Henry David Thoreau, p. 69; May 8, 1995, review of The Great Fire, p. 297; December 9, 1996, review of My Dinosaur, p. 67; March 10, 2003, review of Inside the Alamo, p. 73; October 9, 2006, review of Fergus and the Night-Demon, p. 56; November 5, 2007, review of The Real Benedict Arnold, p. 66.

School Library Journal, November, 1978, Robert Unsworth, review of Weird and Wacky Inventions, p. 66; June, 1992, Elizabeth M. Reardon, review of The Long Road to Gettysburg, p. 146; December, 1993, Diane S. Marton, review of Across America on an Emigrant Train, pp. 129-130; July, 1995, Susannah Price, review of The Great Fire, pp. 89-90; Janet Gillen, review of West to a Land of Plenty; December, 2000, Andrew Medlar, review of Blizzard!, p. 164; December, 2001, Lana Miles, review of My Face to the Wind, p. 139; April, 2003, Diane S. Marton, review of Pick and Shovel Poet, p. 105; May, 2004, Shelley B. Sutherland, review of The Journey of Brian Doyle: A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship, p. 154; September, 2004, David Bilmes, review of An American Plague, p. 82; August, 2005, Blair Christolon, review of Inside the Alamo, p. 49; August, 2006, Kirsten Cutler, review of Fergus and the Night-Demon, p. 94; November, 2006, Adrienne Furness, review of Desperate Journey, p. 142.