Stanley, Diane 1943- (Diane Stanley Zuromskis)

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STANLEY, Diane 1943-
(Diane Stanley Zuromskis)

PERSONAL:

Born December 27, 1943, in Abilene, TX; daughter of Onia Burton, Jr. (a U.S. Navy captain) and Fay (author, playwright, and copywriter; maiden name, Grissom) Stanley; married Peter Zuromskis, May 30, 1970 (divorced, 1979); married Peter Vennema (a corporation president and editorial consultant), September 8, 1979; children: (first marriage) Catherine, Tamara; (second marriage) John Leslie. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Trinity University,San Antonio, TX, B.A., 1965; attended Edinburgh College of Art, 1966-67; Johns Hopkins University, M.A., 1970. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Episcopal.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—2120 Tangley, Houston, TX 77005. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Children's author and illustrator. Freelance medical illustrator, 1970-74; G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY, art director of children's books, 1978-79; full-time author and illustrator, 1979—. Exhibitions at Bush Galleries, Norwich, VT, 1987, and National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, Abilene, TX.

AWARDS, HONORS:

American Reading Association Children's Choice Award, 1979, for The Farmer in the Dell; School Library Journal Best Book selection, 1983, for The Month Brothers: A Slavic Tale; Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, 1983, for The Month Brothers: A Slavic Tale and The Conversation Club, 1985, for A Country Tale, 1986, for Peter the Great and Captain Whiz-Bang, 1988, for Shaka: King of the Zulus, 1990, for Fortune, 1991, forThe Last Princess: The Story of Princess Kai'iulani of Hawai'i, and 1992, for Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare; Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children, Children's Book Council/National Science Teachers Association, 1985, for All Wet! All Wet!; American Library Association Notable Book citation, 1986, for Peter the Great, 1990, for Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England, 1992, for Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare, 1994, for Cleopatra, 1997, for Leonardo da Vinci, and 1998, for Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter; Golden Kite Award Honor Book, Society of Children's Book Writers, 1987, for Peter the Great, and 1997, for Saving Sweetness; New York Times Book Review, ten best illustrated books of 1988 and notable book of 1988 selections, both for Shaka: King of the Zulus; William Allen White Children's Book Award, Emporia State University, 1988-89, for Peter the Great; American Library Association Notable Book citation, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, Honor Book for Nonfiction, International Reading Association's Teacher's Choices, Parenting Magazine 1990 Reading Magic Award, Parents' Magazine Best Kids Books of 1990, American Bookseller, Pick of the Lists, Booklist Editor's Choice, all 1990, all for Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England; Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award, Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book for Nonfiction, Parents' Magazine Best Kids Books of 1991 selection, Booklist Editor's Choice selection, 1991, and Carter G. Woodson Award, National Council for the Social Studies, 1992, all for The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Kai'iulani of Hawai'i; Carter G. Woodson Award, National Council for the Social Studies, 1992, for Siegfried; Children's Choices for 1992, International Reading Association/Children's Book Council, for Siegfried; Horn Book Twenty-Five Best Nonfiction Books of the Year selection, and Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award, both 1992, and Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts, 1993, all for Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare; Notable Book, ALA, and Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for children nominee, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), both 1992, and Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts, 1993, all for Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare; Parenting Magazine Best Books of 1993 selection, and American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, 1993, both for Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations; Publishers Weekly Best Books of 1994 selection, Parenting Magazine's Best Books of 1994 selection, and Booklist Children's Editors' Choice selection, Notable Book, ALA, all 1994, all for Cleopatra; Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, NCTE, Notable Book, ALA, both 1996, and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book for Nonfiction, 1997, all for Leonardo da Vinci; Golden Kite Award for best picture book text, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), 1997, for Saving Sweetness; Notable Book, ALA, 1998, and Golden Kite Award nominee, SCBWI, 1999, both for Joan of Arc; Notable Book, ALA, 2000, for Raising Sweetness; Best Books for Young Adults, ALA, for A Time Apart; Orbis Pictus Honor Book, NCTE, School Library Journal, Best Books, Booklist Editor's Choice and Top Ten Youth Art Books, all 2000, all for Michelangelo; Association of Booksellers for Children, 2001 Booksellers' Choices, for Michelangelo; Texas Bluebonnet award nominee and Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award nominee, 2002-2003, for The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine; American Library Association Notable Book, Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 2002, Booklist Best Books of 2002, Booklinks Best Book of the Year, Parents' Choice 2002 Recommended Award, Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for children, all 2002, all for Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam; Miami Herald Best Books of the Year, Parents' Choice 2003 Recommended Award winner, both 2003, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award Gold Medal Winner, 2004, all for Goldie and the Three Bears.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

The Conversation Club (self-illustrated; Junior Literary Guild selection), Macmillan (New York, NY), 1983.

A Country Tale (self-illustrated), Four Winds (Bristol, FL), 1985.

Birdsong Lullaby (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1985.

Peter the Great (self-illustrated), Four Winds (Bristol, FL), 1986.

The Good Luck Pencil, illustrations by Bruce Degen, Four Winds (Bristol, FL), 1986.

Captain Whiz-Bang (self-illustrated; Book-of-the-Month Club selection), Morrow (New York, NY,) 1987.

(With husband, Peter Vennema) Shaka: King of the Zulus (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1988.

Fortune (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1990.

Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England (self-illustrated), Four Winds (Bristol, FL), 1990.

Siegfried, illustrated by John Sandford, Bantam (New York, NY), 1991.

Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise (Junior Library Guild selection), illustrated by Elise Primavera, Putnam (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Peter Vennema) Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Peter Vennema) Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.

The Gentleman and the Kitchen Maid (Junior Library Guild selection), illustrated by Dennis Nolan, Dial (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Peter Vennema) Cleopatra (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

The True Adventure of Daniel Hall (self-illustrated), Dial (New York, NY), 1995.

Woe Is Moe, illustrated by Elise Primavera, Putnam (New York, NY), 1995.

Elena, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1996.

(Reteller) Giambattista Basile, Petrosinella: A Neapolitan Rapunzel (self-illustrated), adapted from the translation by John E. Tyahylor, Warne (New York, NY), 1981, reprinted, Dial (New York, NY), 1996.

Saving Sweetness (Junior Library Guild selection), illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Putnam (New York, NY), 1996.

Leonardo da Vinci (Junior Library Guild selection), Morrow (New York, NY), 1996.

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

Joan of Arc (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

Raising Sweetness, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Putnam (New York, NY), 1999.

Roughing It on the Oregon Trail, illustrated by Holly Berry, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.

A Time Apart (self-illustrated), Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.

Michelangelo (self-illustrated), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Peter Vennema) Good Queen Bess (self-illustrated), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Joining the Boston Tea Party, illustrated by Holly Berry, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine (self-illustrated), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

The Time-Traveling Twins (self-illustrated), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Saladin: Nobel Prince of Islam (self-illustrated), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Being Thankful at Plymouth Plantation, illustrated by Holly Berry, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Goldie and the Three Bears (self-illustrated), Harper-Collins (New York, NY), 2003.

The Giant and the Beanstalk (self-illustrated), Harper-Collins (New York, NY), 2004.

Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation, illustrated by Holly Berry, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Some work appears under the name Diane Zuromskis.

ILLUSTRATOR; JUVENILE

(Under name Diane Stanley Zuromskis) The Farmer in the Dell, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1978.

(Under name Diane Stanley Zuromskis) Verna Aardema, Half-a-Ball-of-Kenki: An Ashanti Tale Retold, Warne (New York, NY), 1979.

Tony Johnston, Little Mouse Nibbling, Putnam (New York, NY), 1979.

Fiddle-I-Fee: A Traditional American Chant (Junior Literary Guild selection), Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1979.

M. Jean Craig, The Man Whose Name Was Not Thomas, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1981.

Toni Hormann, Onions, Onions, Crowell (New York, NY), 1981.

Jane Yolen, Sleeping Ugly (Junior Literary Guild selection), Coward, McCann (New York, NY), 1981.

Joanne Ryder, Beach Party, Warne (New York, NY), 1982.

Jean Marzollo and Claudio Marzollo, Robin of Bray, Dial (New York, NY), 1982.

James Whitcomb Riley, Little Orphan Annie, Putnam (New York, NY), 1983.

Samuel Marshak, reteller, The Month Brothers, translation by Thomas P. Whitney, Morrow (New York, NY), 1983.

James Skofield, All Wet! All Wet!, Harper (New York, NY), 1984.

Fay Stanley, The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i, Four Winds (Bristol, FL), 1991.

ADAPTATIONS:

Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise was featured as an animated episode of Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, broadcast by the Showtime cable television network.

SIDELIGHTS:

Diane Stanley is a highly regarded children's author and illustrator. While Stanley is most often associated with her award-winning picture-book biographies, a few of which she created with her husband, Peter Vennema, she has also authored and illustrated books in a variety of other genres. In a review of Joan of Arc for School Library Journal, Shirley Winton commended Stanley's "talent for historical research, skill in writing clear and interesting prose, and ability to adapt different art styles and techniques appropriate to her subjects."

Stanley's first picture-book biography, Peter the Great, was inspired by a tape the author heard of an adult biography of the outlandish Russian czar. Stanley selected only those episodes of the czar's life most appropriate for young readers and penned the book. She based her illustrations on her own memories of a trip to Russia and the many books she read about the country during her college years. Stanley called this period of her life "my 'Russian phase,' in which I read all the great Russian novels, beginning with War and Peace, studied Russian art and history, and unknowingly planted the seeds of the first biography I would write years later, Peter the Great." The book was well received among both critics and readers. Jean Fritz, an author of nonfiction to whom Stanley is often compared, wrote in the New York Times Book Review that Peter the Great "stays close to the historical record and turns out to be the strongest story of all.… [Stanley] has the good sense not to embellish his extraordinary life and let it speak for itself."

With Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, Stanley presents portraits of two artistic rivals and historical icons. "Both books are fine achievements, presenting for young readers comprehensive, incisive, visually stimulating interpretations of a pivotal period in the development of Western culture," concluded Mary M. Burns in Horn Book. Burns also pointed out that Stanley's treatment of each artist is unique: "The narratives differ in tone, perhaps to fit the personalities they describe. Leonardo seems the more appealing of the two: Michelangelo the more introverted." Gillian Engberg wrote in Booklist in reference to Michelangelo, "This outstanding biography combines lively, almost colloquial text with an overview of the Italian Renaissance and exceptional artwork that has been computer generated in places." Burns likewise praised Michelangelo, noting, "Stanley has indeed captured in both words and pictures the essence of Michelangelo, man of the Renaissance—sculptor, painter, architect."

In addition to picture-book biographies, Stanley has also published several historical picture books, including Roughing It on the Oregon Trail and Joining the Boston Tea Party. In both books, red-headed twins Liz and Lenny embark on time-traveling adventures with their lovable grandmother. With the help of Grandma's magic hat, the twins transport themselves back to 1843 in Roughing It on the Oregon Trail to a time when their ancestors left Missouri and headed to Oregon on a wagon train. "Stanley serves up a lively blend of fact and fiction as she recounts their journey, shoehorning in information on everything from the rigors of the terrain and weather to trail food ('slam-johns and sowbelly,' or pancakes and bacon) and prairie fuel (buffalo chips), as well as citing relevant milestones such as the Panic of 1837 and the Louisiana Purchase," explained a Publishers Weekly reviewer. When Liz and Lenny choose a picture of an ancestor, young Ben, they and Grandma don attire appropriate for life during Ben's time in Joining the Boston Tea Party. Grandma tops her outfit with her magic hat and off they go, back to wintry Boston in 1773. They locate Ben, meet his family, and learn a great deal about Colonial life. The trio, along with Grandma's pooch Moose, joins the Mohawks in the Boston Tea Party and learns about the politics leading to the revolution. In a review of the book for Horn Book, Roger Sutton observed that the book's "historical information is pitched low but cleanly and accurately as well." Booklist's Helen Rosenberg remarked that the book's dialogue "bubbles" and praised Stanley's "blending" of "historical tidbits with modern-day humor." Concluded Rosenberg, "Full of child appeal, this picture book offers children a light-hearted introductory account of the times."

Stanley tackles the separation of mother and daughter while a mother undergoes treatment for breast cancer in Time Apart, a young adult novel. Thirteen-year-old Ginny must temporarily live with her estranged professor father in England in an Iron-Age village he and his colleagues have created. "Stanley makes the Iron Age-related challenges (such as finding the right clay to make cooking pots) as compelling as Ginny's emotions, and the protagonist always seems lifelike," observed a Publishers Weekly reviewer. "The only mis-steps come when Ginny runs away from the project—it's hard to suspend disbelief when she, shoeless, penniless, and clad in her bizarre clothing, finds her way safely to her dad's vacated London apartment," maintained the same reviewer. Booklist's Stephanie Zvirin concluded, "Stanley does a good job with the characters as well as the historical details in this ultimately upbeat coming-of-age story."

With The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, Stanley serves "up a witty story that manages to be both light and satisfying." When she enters a new school, fifth-grader Franny Sharp befriends the independent Beamer. Franny and Beamer notice that most of the students in the cafeteria are playing intently with Jelly Worm candies. The inquisitive Franny connects the popular worms to the release of author I.M. Fine's new "Chiller's" book. Franny and Beamer investigate another mystery when the outbreak of a virus coincides with the release of the next book in the "Chiller's" series. The Publishers Weekly reviewer deemed The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine "superior entertainment" and concluded, "Stanley cheerfully sends up horror series fiction, unfolds a mystery involving orphan twins separated in childhood and repeatedly testifies to the pleasures of reading classics and fluff." The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine was nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award.

Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam is Stanley's 2002 picture-book biography in which Stanley recounts the life of a twelfth-century leader known as "the Muslim saint king." As a boy, Saladin is told how the Christians conquered Jerusalem, killing many people of all religions in the process. Saladin, who became known for his mercifulness, joined the army at a young age and eventually became a leader who led his people to fight the Christian crusaders. Booklist's Ilene Cooper praised Stanley's presentation of events in the book, saying, "The story of Saladin battling his way back to Jerusalem is complicated and filled with blood and intrigue, and Stanley tells it vigorously." Cooper went on to say, "But even more interesting is the parallel journey she recounts as Saladin tries to maintain his honor and chivalry in the midst of horrendous fighting." Cooper observed that condensing such a long story into only forty-eight pages is challenging and that "sometimes details are glossed over" and events "occasionally seem compressed." Writing in School Library Journal, Patricia D. Lothrop praised Stanley's creation of multidimensional characters, who are neither all-good nor all-bad. "Saladin is not flawless," Lothrop explained, "and the attitude of Islam toward women is noted." Both Cooper and Lothrop felt that the illustrations are the book's major strength. Cooper considered the illustrations in Saladin to be some of Stanley's best, and "that speaks volumes" she remarked. Lothrop noted that "the beauty and sophistication of Islamic culture shine through Stanley's glorious pictures." A Publishers Weekly reviewer observed, "Portraits of Saladin at home sitting in front of gorgeously tiled walls and his family arrayed in sumptuous robes are particularly effective in conveying the richness of the subject's world."

Stanley puts a modern twist on a popular fairly tale in Goldie and the Three Bears. "Stanley's Goldie is a modem-day kid. She has definite likes and dislikes about food, clothes, and even friends," explained Cooper in Booklist. In Stanley's book, Goldie is a lonely girl who gets off at the wrong bus stop. While searching for a phone to call her mother, she wanders into the Bears' house, a move Cooper felt will invite much criticism from "militants of various stripes." Cooper continued, "A good many well-trained children, too, are likely to gasp at her risky behavior" even though they are familiar with the fairy tale and know that no harm will come to Goldie. Despite this one potential flaw in the book, however, most critics praised Stanley's remake of the tale. "Stanley shapes an especially endearing version of this classic with numerous fresh and funny textual and visual flourishes (e.g., she establishes Goldie's interest in bears with a stuffed teddy that 'she loved … with all her heart' and bear paintings on her bedroom wall; the anthropomorphic Mama Bear wears a vermilion dress and pearls, and her high-heeled slippers lie next to her elegantly carved sleigh bed)," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. The same reviewer concluded that the book is an "appealing take on the character of Goldilocks and on her escapade."

Stanley teamed up with illustrator C. Brian Karas to create Saving Sweetness and Raising Sweetness, in which a clumsy-but-kind sheriff adopts Sweetness and her seven fellow orphans and then struggles to properly raise them. "When it comes to raising the eight orphans he rescued (with more than a li'l help from Sweetness) from the evil Mrs. Sump, the sheriff clearly has his heart in the right place," noted Roger Sutton in Horn Book. Sutton also pointed out, Raising Sweetness "answers Diane Stanley's pitch-perfect narrative drawl with G. Brian Karas's homespun-on-the-range pictures, a cozy melange of media that warms the comedy with affection." Critics noted that readers will laugh at some of the Sheriff's antics, such as when he makes the children banana-and-pickle pie.

Diane Stanley told CA: "I grew up with a mother who was a writer. I was raised from my earliest years on a love of rich language and good stories. Our house was full of books, and when I was small, my mother read to me often. I think you savor words more when you hear them spoken aloud. Often my mother would stop reading to consider a particular word or phrase, go to the dictionary to look it up, and explain it to me. She would say, 'That's a good word. You should know that one.' 'Good' words were ones that beautifully expressed an important idea or quality. I savor 'good' words to this day.

"Perhaps because I was an only child, reading became my best companion. Today, my life is all about books: writing them, illustrating them, reading them, and sharing them with children. I feel blessed.

"If there is anything I love as much as words and the ideas they express, it is using my hands. I was forever making things as a child, and I particularly loved to draw. The margins of my notebooks at school were crammed with little drawings. Unfortunately, I did not think seriously about art as a career until I took a life-drawing class in my senior year in college. The teacher took me aside and told me he thought I had ability. That teacher changed the course of my life. I wonder how many teachers realize the power they have to mold the lives of their students.

"I became a medical illustrator and, during my second year of graduate school, I convinced the owner of a printing company in Baltimore to allow me to use his hand press at night; I wanted to print a book. I bought my own type and set each page by hand. I chose fine, handmade paper, and did pen-and-ink illustrations for it. After each page was printed, the type had to be taken out and reset for the next page. It took months of my evenings. I originally planned to make ten copies, but set by set had to be thrown away because of an ink blot or a misaligned page. In the end, only two copies remained! Perhaps what I loved most was the process of planning out the book, designing it, seeing to each and every detail. The love of book design has become another major theme in my life, not only as an illustrator, but also as a book designer and art director.

"When I became a mother and started visiting the library regularly to check out books for my two daughters, I realized that what I really wanted to do was make books for children. It was the perfect combination of my love of words, art, and book design. This has proved to be more satisfying than I could have imagined. People ask me sometimes whether I have trouble getting things done, since I work at home and set my own schedule. I guess that isn't a problem because I enjoy my work so much. The hardest part is putting the work aside when it's time to drive in a car pool or cook dinner.

"Beginning with Peter the Great, I have increasingly turned my efforts toward writing picture-book biographies. With the exception of raising children, it is the most challenging—and satisfying—work I have ever done. For a year, I am immersed in the life and times of a singular man or woman, and I come to know these people intimately. I not only must learn the details of a life and find a simple and compelling way to convey complex events and ideas, but I also have to understand the architecture and costumes of the period so that I can try to recreate my subject's world in visual terms. One of my favorite aspects of creating these books is choosing something in the art or culture of the subject's country and period to use as a design theme throughout the book—such as the Zulu beadwork in Shaka and the mosaics in Cleopatra.

"Though I am probably best known for my nonfiction work, I have increasingly taken pleasure in writing humorous stories. I loved exploring the richness of Texas idiom for Saving Sweetness, and setting the old story of Rumpelstiltskin right in Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, my unabashedly feminist fairy tale, was sheer pleasure.

"I have always admired Mary Catherine Bateson's concept of 'composing a life.' Professionally as well as personally, I have deeply enjoyed moving along the path I set out upon over twenty years ago. Part of the fun is not knowing where it will take me.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 46, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1998.

Popular Nonfiction Authors for Children, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 1998.

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

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 2001; January, 1, 1998, review of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, p. 736; January 1, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 783; February 1, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 84; February 15, 1999, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 1077; March 15, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 1308; June 1, 1999, Sally Estes, review of A Time Apart, p. 1826; July 1, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 1826; September 6, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 105; November, 15, 1999, Stephanie Zvirin, review of A Time Apart, p. 618; March 1, 2000, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Joan of Arc, p. 1249; April 1, 2000, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Roughing It on the Oregon Trail, p. 1479; September 15, 2001, Helen Rosenberg, review of Joining the Boston Tea Party, p. 224; December 15, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Michelangelo, p. 811; September 1, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam, p. 121; November 1, 2003, Ilene Cooper, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," p. 498.

Book: The Magazine for the Reading Life, September, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 92.

Book World, August 2, 1998, review of Bard of Avon, p. 6.

Center for Children's Books, September, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 32; February, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 218; October, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 70; October, 2001, review of The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, 77.

Children's Book and Play Review, May, 2001, review of Michelangelo, p. 19; November, 2001, review of A Time Apart, p. 22.

Children's Book Review Service, October, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 191.

Christian Science Monitor, December 20, 2001, review of Joining the Boston Tea Party, p. 16.

Commonweal, April 23, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 23; April 6, 2001, review of Michelangelo, p. 23.

Horn Book, September, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 623; March, 1999, Roger Sutton, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 202; November, 2000, Mary M. Burns, review of Michelangelo, p. 773; November, 2001, review of Joining the Boston Tea Party, p. 769; September-October, 2003, Barbara Bader, review of Goldie and the Three Bears, pp. 601-603.

Horn Book Guide, spring, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 140; fall, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 268; spring, 2001, review of Michelangelo, p. 130.

Instructor, April, 1998, review of Saving Sweetness, p. 26; May, 1998, p. 63; May, 1999, review of Leonardo da Vinci, p. 18; September, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 27; May, 2001, review of Saving Sweetness, p. 36.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literary, November, 2001, review of A Time Apart, p. 198.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 1196; December 15, 1998, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 1804; June 1, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 1059; June 15, 2001, review of The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, p. 872; August 1, 2001, review of Joining the Boston Tea Party, p. 1132; July 15, 2002, review of Saladin, p. 1044; August 1, 2003, review of Goldie and the Three Bears, p. 1024.

New York Times Book Review, November 9, 1986; November 13, 1988; November 15, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 28; October 17, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 30; November 16, 2003, "Still Eating That Porridge," p. 43.

Publishers Weekly, July 13, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 1219; August 3, 1998, review of Bard of Avon, p. 87; November 2, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 50; February 1, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 84; February 22, 1999, review of Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise, p. 97; August 23, 1999, review of Peter the Great, p. 61; September 6, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 104; May 22, 2000, review of Roughing It on the Oregon Trail, p. 93; July 30, 2001, review of The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, p. 85; August 6, 2001, review of Joining the Boston Tea Party, p. 91; August 20, 2001, review of Roughing It on the Oregon Trail, p. 83; September 3, 2001, review of Good Queen Bess, p. 90; July 30, 2001, review of The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, p. 85; November 12, 2001, review of Saving Sweetness, p. 63; August 5, 2002, review of Saladin, p. 73; August 19, 2002, review of The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, p. 92; August 18, 2003, review of Goldie and the Three Bears, p. 79.

Reading Teacher, May, 1998, review of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, p. 690; November, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 252; December, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 351; September, 2001, review of Michelangelo, p. 87.

School Library Journal, August, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 43; September, 1998, review of Joan of Arc, p. 226; January, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 102; September, 1999, review of A Time Apart, p. 228; December, 1999, review of Raising Sweetness, p. 43; June, 2000, John Sigwald, review of Roughing It on the Oregon Trail, p, 126; December, 2000, review of Michelangelo, p. 55; August, 2001, review of The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine, p. 83, Carey Ayres, review of Joining the Boston Tea Party, p. 162; September, 2002, Patricia D. Lothrop, review of Saladin, p. 251.

Social Education, May, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 3; May, 2001, review of Michelangelo, p. 3.

Teacher Librarian, September, 1998, review of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, p. 42; January, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 46.

Tribune Books, October 16, 1988.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1999, review of Joan of Arc, p. 413; August, 2001, review of Michelangelo, p. 171.