Vollstadt, Elizabeth Weiss 1942-

PERSONAL:

Born December 28, 1942, in New York, NY; daughter of Alexander (a civil engineer) and Therese (a homemaker) Weiss; married Peter J. Vollstadt (a visual communications manager), August 14, 1965; children: Christopher E., Heidi Marie. Education: Adelphi University, B.A. (cum laude), 1964; graduate study at Cleveland State University, Northeastern University, and Queens College of the City University of New York; John Carroll University, M.A., 1981. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, boating, travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home—DeLand, FL. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Junior high school English teacher in Herricks school district in New York, 1966-68; Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, OH, adjunct instructor in English, 1982-85; Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital, Cleveland, OH, manager of publications, 1986-92; Lakeland Community College, adjunct instructor, 1992-95; freelance writer, 1995—.

MEMBER:

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Awards from International Association of Business Communicators, including feature writing awards, 1987, for the article "Treating the Whole Child," 1991, for the article "A Day in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: High Tech, High Stress, High Reward," and 1994, for the article "CT: Not Just for People Anymore," and a regional award in special publications category, 1988, for Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital: Celebrating 100 Years of Caring.

WRITINGS:

Teen Eating Disorders, Lucent Books (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Teen Dropouts, Lucent Books (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Johnny Tremain, Lucent Books (San Diego, CA), 2001.

Florida, Kidhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

(With Marcella Fisher Anderson) Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution, illustrated by Layne Johnson, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2004.

Other writings include Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital: Celebrating 100 Years of Caring. Work represented in anthologies, including The Christian Family Christmas Book, Augsburg (Minneapolis, MN), 1988; Emergency Pilot: Adventure Stories from Highlights, 1995; Laughing on Butterfly Wings: Long-ago Stories from Highlights, 1995; and Reflections from a Mud Puddle: Helping Children Cope and Grow, compiled by Marcella Fisher Anderson, Boyds Mill Press (Honesdale, PA), 1998. Contributor of articles and fiction to periodicals, including Rainbow, Jack and Jill, Children's Digest, Church Herald, Highlights for Children, and My Friend.

SIDELIGHTS:

Elizabeth Weiss Vollstadt told CA "I decided early on that I liked writing for children because they have a sense of wonder about the world, and they get excited when they discover something new. I still love discovering new things, whether it's learning about the jumps, lifts, and spins in ice skating for a story about an elite ice skater or exploring new places and delving into their history for historical fiction. I then love to ‘live’ someone else's life as I write about their adventures.

"My book Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution gave me a chance to immerse myself in the American Revolution. The short stories in the book (written with Marcella Fisher Anderson) show how young people might have felt and contributed to the fight for freedom. I learned to enjoy history through novels (Johnny Tremain for the American Revolution and Gone with the Wind for the Civil War, for example) and I hope the stories in my book pass on some of that excitement to children today."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 1999, Debbie Carton, review of Teen Eating Disorders, p. 1938.

Children's Bookwatch, December, 2004, review of Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution.

School Library Journal, August, 1999, Joyce Adams Burner, review of Teen Eating Disorders, p. 180; September, 2001, Elizabeth Stumpf, review of Understanding Johnny Tremain, p. 257; June, 2004, Coop Renner, review of Young Patriots, p. 135.