Smith, Cynthia Leitich 1967–

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Smith, Cynthia Leitich 1967–

PERSONAL:

Born December 31, 1967, in Kansas City, MO; daughter of H.E. (a car sales manager) and Caroline (a check printer) Smith; married Greg Leitich Smith (a children's author and patent lawyer), September 4, 1994. Education: University of Kansas—Lawrence, B.S., 1990; University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1994. Hobbies and other interests: Cats, superhero comic books, historic restoration and preservation.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Austin, TX. Office—P.O. Box 3255, Austin, TX 78764. Agent—Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown Ltd. 10 Astor Pl., New York, NY 10003. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Law clerk for Department of Health and Human Services, 1994-95; Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, faculty, 2005—.

MEMBER:

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Western Writers Association, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, Horror Writers Association, Writers League of Texas, Muscogee (Creek) Nation (tribal member).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies designation, 2 x 2 Reading List, Texas Library Association, Oklahoma Book Award finalist, Oklahoma Center for the Book, Storyteller Award runner-up, Western Writers Association, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Choice, and Library Talk Editor's Choice, all 2000, all for Jingle Dancer; Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and Writer of the Year award for Children's Prose, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, both 2001, both for Rain Is Not My Indian Name; notable trade book in the field of social studies, Bank Street College Best Books of the Year citation, Cooperative Center for Children's Books Choice award, all 2003, all for Indian Shoes; Borders Original Choice title, and Texas Library Association Tayshas list, both for Tantalize.

WRITINGS:

Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, Morrow (New York, NY), 2000.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Indian Shoes, illustrated by Jim Madsen, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Greg Leitich Smith) Santa Knows, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Tantalize, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Also author of the blog Cynsations. Stories anthologized in Period Pieces: Stories for Girls, HarperCollins, 2003; In My Grandmother's House: Award-Winning Authors Tell Stories about Their Grandmothers, HarperCollins, 2003; and Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today, HarperCollins, 2005. Contributor to periodicals, including Horn Book, Library Talk, Cicada, and Book Link.

ADAPTATIONS:

Rain Is Not My Indian Name was adapted for audiocassette by Listening Library, 2001.

SIDELIGHTS:

A mixed-blood member of the Creek Nation, author Cynthia Leitich Smith explores contemporary Native American themes in her novels, picture books, and chapter books, while also focusing on loss, urban assimilation, and the importance of community. Smith's award-winning young-adult novel Rain Is Not My Indian Name focuses on a mixed-heritage teen who, while confronting a personal tragedy, gains understanding of her heritage, while the picture book Jingle Dancer finds a Creek-Chippewa girl honoring the women in her family while solving a personal difficulty.

Smith was born on December 31, 1967, in Kansas City, Missouri, and reading was an important part of her life. A shy child, she was also a great fan of comic books, a hobby she took up when she accompanied her father for a weekly outing to buy his gun-enthusiast magazines. Though her parents did not read literary fiction, they did instill in their daughter the importance of reading. Smith dictated her first poem to her mother as a first grader, and by grade six she was writing the "Dear Gabby" column for her school newspaper. In junior high and high school she edited the school newspapers, and at college at the University of Kansas she majored in journalism, intending to become a reporter. After graduating from the University of Kansas, she enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School, intending to become a legal reporter and media-law journalism professor. In addition to meeting the man who would become her husband, Smith also involved herself in Native American and feminist causes during law school.

While working as a law clerk after graduation, Smith began "scribbling stories after work and over my lunch hour," as she once told an Authors and Artists for Young Adults (AAYA) interviewer. She soon began to see that writing was what she wanted to do and decided to leave the law and begin a career as a children's author.

Smith's first publication, Jingle Dancer, tells of young Jenna, who determines to do the jingle dance for the next pow-wow. To get the cone-shaped jingles for her dress, Jenna visits several neighbors and relatives. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that Smith "convincingly juxtaposes cherished Native American tradition and contemporary lifestyle in this smooth debut," and Booklist contributor Connie Fletcher had similar praise, noting that the tale "highlights the importance of family and community."

Smith combines community, Native-American cultural traditions, and romance in her first novel for young-adult readers, Rain Is Not My Indian Name. Cassidy Rain Berghoff is one of a handful of people of mixed Native-American heritage living in her small Kansas town. Cassidy experiences more than her share of tragedy: her mother died after being struck by lightning, and now, just after celebrating her fourteenth birthday with her best friend Galen, who admitted his love for her, Cassidy learns that Galen too is dead, killed in a car accident. Torn by grief, she cannot deal with the loss until months later, when the death of a distant relative and participation in a community project force Cassidy to deal with her feelings.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name was greeted with critical acclaim. Carol Edwards, writing in School Library Journal, called the book a "wonderful novel of a presentday teen and her ‘patchwork tribe.’" A reviewer for Publishers Weekly felt that the various plot lines and nonchronological narrative "make it difficult to enter Smith's complex novel," but added that readers will find an "ample reward" in the "warmth and texture of the writing."

Smith is also the author of the chapter book Indian Shoes, a collection of six humorous interconnected stories about Ray Halfmoon and his grandfather and their daily lives in urban Chicago and rural Oklahoma. While a Publishers Weekly contributor found the text somewhat "flowery" in its depiction of the "strong bond" between generations, a Kirkus Reviews critic dubbed the volume a "very pleasing first-chapter book," and described Smith's story as both "funny" and "heartwarming." Similarly, Anne O'Malley, reviewing Indian Shoes for Booklist, found the lead characters "charming," and the stories a "powerful, poignant evocation of a cross-generational bond."

Santa Knows, which Smith cowrote with her husband, Greg Leitich Smith, is the story of a little boy named Alfie F. Snorklepuss, who is convinced that Santa does not exist. So sure is he that he goes out of his way to prove he's right, and to convince his little sister Noelle that her belief in Santa is childish, by posting his convictions on the World Wide Web. Alfie is in for a rude surprise, and Noelle a sweet vindication, when Santa takes matters into his own hands. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman, the book is intended for younger readers—most appropriately those of an age to begin to doubt Santa's existence themselves. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews remarked: "The transformation of a nonbeliever on Christmas Eve is an old story, but Alfie F. Snorklepuss is a newly minted winner."

Smith's young adult novel Tantalize is a combination romantic thriller and horror story. Set in an alternative version of Smith's hometown of Austin, Texas, the book envisions a world where vampires and were-people join the general population, frightening some humans but fascinating others. Quincie Morris lives with her uncle in the midst of this mixed community and must handle the unusual circumstances that arise as a result, from finding a new chef for the family's vampire-themed restaurant when their current hire is murdered, to facing her werewolf-best-friend's decision to search out a pack where he might feel at home. Lauren Adams, in a review for Horn Book, remarked: "Smith adds a light touch of humor to the soup, but the main course is a dark romance with all the gory trimmings."

In addition to her publications for young readers, Smith also maintains an award-winning Web site that serves as a resource through its interviews, links, and references. "I love to write," Smith once commented. "I love that I get to stay home—unless I'm speaking on the road—with my husband and cats…. I love that I can pretend all the time and make it my life's work…. I write for the child inside of me, for Native Americans and non-Indians, for kids from age four to age one hundred and beyond."

Smith told CA: "I was a library kid. My mama took me every Saturday morning to our local public library. In time, I was inspired to begin writing stories of my own. Early on, I was a poet, entering school contests. I never won, but I kept writing. When the original [George Lucas film] Star Wars came out, I was enthralled by its use of classic story structure and devices in a new way. I saw the film in theaters more than 300 times, and it's largely responsible for triggering my overactive imagination.

"When I first began, I took that age-old advice: write what you know. I saw an opportunity to tell stories of contemporary Native people and intergenerational relationships, of mid-to-southwestern settings. I'll continue to do that, but I'm also now writing the kind of stories I loved most as a young reader—humorous stories, spooky stories, and fantasies.

"The children's writing instructor who influenced me most was Kathi Appelt. As a beginner, I took a number of workshops from her, and over time, we began to teach together. I also must credit my junior high and high school English teachers as well as my journalism and English professors at the University of Kansas. In terms of their craft, I also drew lessons from the work of Joy Harjo, Joseph Bruchac, Annette Curtis Klause, Carolyn Crimi, and Nancy Werlin.

"I do a lot of prewriting. I interview my characters, tear photos out of magazines to serve as models for them, shop for houses for them to live in, and find objects that represent who they are. I tend to write rough drafts between midnight and four a.m. when the world quiets enough for me to think. I usually print, read, toss, and delete my first novel drafts. That initial plunge is merely a way for me to get to know my characters and learn my way around my fictional world. Anything that matters will stay in my mind and eventually find its way to the page again. Anything that doesn't would prove a faulty foundation.

"I'm an enthusiastic researcher and reviser and prone to scribbling notes on whatever's handy, including my own hands and arms. Likewise, I adore setting and consider it a character in all of my books. On my last research trip to Chicago, Illinois, the ink in my pen froze when I was taking notes on Navy Pier, at the edge of Lake Michigan. I had flown up from Texas to remind myself what cold felt like. It was a very effective exercise.

"I've learned that the circle of readers and storytellers is more than an ideal, a tradition. It's a tangible place to belong. It's a place in which to build one's life. It's a platform for raising awareness of the importance of youth literature and literacy. It's a launching pad for reaching out to young readers and supporting the heroes, especially the teachers and librarians, who connect kids to books.

"I hope that my books entertain and prompt laughter and offer solace. I hope they challenge the reader to see the world and themselves in a new way. I hope they encourage real-life young heroes to realize they can make a difference."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 51, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2003.

PERIODICALS

Better Homes and Gardens, July 11, 2000, Steve Cooper, "Raising a Reader."

Book, July, 2000, Kathleen Odean, "Debuts That Deliver."

Booklist, May 15, 2000, Connie Fletcher, review of Jingle Dancer, p. 1750; April 1, 2002, Judy Morrissey, "The Million Dollar Shot," p. 1348; June 1, 2002, Anne O'Malley, review of Indian Shoes, p. 1725.

Horn Book, March 1, 2007, Lauren Adams, review of Tantalize, p. 202.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2002, review of Indian Shoes, p. 499; November 1, 2006, review of Santa Knows, p. 1134.

Library Talk, March-April, 2002, Sharron L. McElmeel, "Author Profile: Cynthia Leitich Smith."

Publishers Weekly, May 15, 2000, review of Jingle Dancer, p. 117; July 9, 2001, review of Rain Is Not My Indian Name, p. 68; April 1, 2002, review of Indian Shoes, p. 83.

School Library Journal, June, 2001, Carol Edwards, review of Rain Is Not My Indian Name, p. 156.

Teacher Librarian, October, 2001, Teri Lesesne, "Cheering for Books: An Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith," p. 51.

Writing for Kids, June, 2002, Alice Pope, "Sound off with Children's Writers."