Angel, Ann 1952-

Personal

Born 1952, in WI; married, husband's name, Jeff; children: four. Education: Mount Mary College, B.A. (education), 1975; Marquette University, M.A. (journalism); Vermont College of Fine Arts, M.F.A. (writing), 1999. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, traveling.

Addresses

Home—WI. Office—Mount Mary College, 2900 N. Menomonee River Pkwy., Milwaukee, WI 53222-4597. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer, journalist, and educator. Milwaukee Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI, reporter; Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, assistant professor of English, 1989—. Has also worked as a junior-high-school teacher.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Awards, Honors

Arthur Tofte Juvenile Book Award, Council for Wisconsin Writers, 1989, for John Glenn: Space Pioneer.

Writings

FICTION

Real for Sure Sister, illustrated by Joanne Bowring, Perspectives Press (Ft. Wayne, IN), 1988.

(Editor) Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories about Beauty, Amulet Books (New York, NY), 2007.

NONFICTION

John Glenn: Space Pioneer, Fawcett Columbine (New York, NY), 1990.

Lech Walesa: Champion of Freedom for Poland, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 1992.

Louis Pasteur: Leading the Way to a Healthier World, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 1992.

(Editor) America in the Twentieth Century: 1900-1909, Marshall Cavendish (North Bellmore, NY), 1995.

(Editor) America in the Twentieth Century: 1910-1919, Marshall Cavendish (North Bellmore, NY), 1995.

Milwaukee: City Smart Guidebooks, John Muir Publications (Santa Fe, NM), 1997.

Robert Cormier: Author of The Chocolate War, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2008.

Amy Tan: Weaver of Asian-American Tales, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2009.

Editor of "Sight and Sounds" books, Western Publishing, 1998-99; writer and editor for Raintree Books and Gareth Stevens. Contributor to periodicals, including ALAN Review. Contributing editor, MetroParent (Milwaukee, WI).

Sidelights

Ann Angel, a former journalist who teaches writing at Mount Mary College, is the author of several works of nonfiction, including biographies of Robert Cormier and Amy Tan. Angel also served as the editor of Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories about Beauty, a collection featuring tales from such acclaimed young-adult writers as Chris Lynch and Jacqueline Woodson. "Writing and reading for me are all about finding connections," Angel stated in an essay on the Wordswimmer Web log. "This is probably why anthologies have always fascinated me. Each anthology, usually centered on a single and specific theme, allows a reader to explore the world from a variety of perspectives. Anthologies let us hear the many voices that inhabit the world. They show us life through the eyes and ears, the senses and thoughts, of a variety of characters."

Such a Pretty Face "challenges the myths and expectations surrounding the stronghold of physical beauty," observed School Library Journal contributor Dianne P. Tucillo. In "Bad Hair Day," a humorous story by Lauren Myracle, a homecoming queen sprouts an unruly chin hair, while Tim Wynne-Jones' "Bella in Five Acts" concerns an undersized boy's efforts to save a suicidal girl. "In each story," remarked Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy reviewer Candis McGovern, "different and identifiable characters are confronted with having to make their own definition of beauty in the face of others' standards and, furthermore, are forced to look within for the truth of their own personal beauty." "The

stories encompass a range of mood and style, but all address issues of self-discovery and looking beneath the surface," Lauren Adams similarly noted in Booklist.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2007, Gillian Engberg, review of Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories about Beauty, p. 32.

Horn Book, May-June, 2007, Lauren Adams, review of Such a Pretty Face, p. 276.

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, March, 2008, Candis McGovern, review of Such a Pretty Face, p. 521.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2007, review of Such a Pretty Face.

School Library Journal, January, 2008, Dianne P. Tucillo, review of Such a Pretty Face, p. 114.

ONLINE

Ann Angel Home Page,http://www.annangelwriter.com (August 10, 2008).

Ann Angel Web log,http://www.annangelwriter.com/blog/ (August 10, 2008).

Cynsations Web site,http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ (August 29, 2007), Cynthia Leitich Smith, "Author Interview: Ann Angel on Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories about Beauty."

Wordswimmer Web log,http://wordswimmer.blogspot.com/ (May 5, 2007), "One Writer's Process: Ann Angel."