Becker, Bonny

views updated

Becker, Bonny

Personal

Married; children: two. Education: Scripps College, B.A. (psychology); San Francisco State University, M.F.A. (English/creative writing).

Addresses

Home and office—Seattle, WA. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Author. Worked variously as a waitress, store clerk, substitute teacher, hotel maid, typist, photographer, journalist, editor and corporate communications manager.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Writings

The Quiet Way Home, illustrated by Benrei Huang, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 1995.

The Christmas Crocodile, illustrated by David Small, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1998.

Tickly Prickly, illustrated by Shari Halpern, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1999.

My Brother, the Robot (middle-grade novel), Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Just a Minute, illustrated by Jack E. Davis, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

An Ant's Day Off, illustrated by Nina Laden, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Holbrook: A Lizard's Tale, illustrated by Abby Carter, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2006.

A Visitor for Bear, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, Candlewick Press (New York, NY), 2008.

A Birthday for Bear, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, Candlewick Press (New York, NY), 2009.

The Magical Ms. Plum, Knopf (New York, NY), 2009.

Sidelights

Bonny Becker's path to becoming a writer involved a number of job and career changes. Before earning her master's degree in English and creative writing, Becker worked as a waitress, photographer, journalist, and a corporate communications manager. As she noted on her home page, traveling her diversified career path took some time, but "it's been worth the wait. It's given me a lot of ‘me,’ to put in my stories." Even her wackiest story ideas come from ideas and experiences in real life, she asserted. Becker's work includes picture books for young readers such as The Christmas Crocodile, Holbrook: A Lizard's Tale, Just a Minute, and A Visitor for Bear. Featuring artwork by such noted illustrators as David Small, Abby Carter, and Kady MacDonald Denton, Becker's stories have been praised for their unusual storylines. As a Publishers Weekly contributor wrote of Becker's humorous picture book Just a Minute, which finds a boy carried into another time continuum while waiting for his always-tardy mom, the author's "over-the-top tale about pint-sized fear and loathing will likely have kids nodding and grinning in recognition." In addition, Becker has also written the middle-grade novel My Brother, the Robot, which finds a preteen faced with keeping pace with a perfect sibling. Problems arise when the boy's parents order a robot named Simon, hoping the mechanical boy will be a flawless son. The novel's "text is clever and comical," according to a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic adding that kids should enjoy" My Brother, the Robot and its focus on self-acceptance.

Featuring illustrations by Carter, Holbrook tells the story of a lizard who is struggling to make it as an artist. In an attempt to gain respect among family and friends, Holbrook ventures out to the Golden City where he has dreams of making it big. Along the way, the lizard makes an assortment of friends but also learns an important lesson about trust. A Kirkus Reviews critic noted that Holbrook contains an "earnest message" but found the plot "predictable." In contrast, Robin Gioia wrote in School Library Journal that Holbrook is "a fun adventure that will capture the imagination" of young readers. Becker employs "storytelling techniques [that] yield … an amusing cast of rich characters," Gioia added of the illustrated middle-grade novel. Equally enthusiastic in her Booklist review of Holbrook, Carolyn Phelan noted that Becker's tale "moves along quickly, enlivened by dramatic situations, dry wit, and [Carter's] dynamic full-page illustrations."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of The Quiet Way Home, p. 640; July, 1999, Ilene Coo- per, review of Tickly Prickly, p. 1949; January 1, 2007, review of Holbrook: A Lizard's Tale, p. 96; September 1, 1998, Ilene Cooper, review of The Christmas Crocodile, p. 131.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February, 2007, Hope Morrison, review of Holbrook, p. 243.

Children's Bookwatch, March, 2004, Diane C. Donovan, review of Just a Minute, p. 6.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2003, review of An Ant's Day Off, p. 745; September 1, 2003, review of Just a Minute, p. 1120; September 15, 2003, review of My Brother, the Robot, p. 1353; October 16, 2006, review of Holbrook, p. 1065.

Publishers Weekly, May 12, 2003, review of An Ant's Day Off, p. 66; September 15, 2003, review of Just a Minute, p. 64; September 28, 1998, review of The Christmas Crocodile, p. 58.

School Library Journal, January, 1996, Christina Dorr, review of The Quiet Way Home, p. 76; October, 1998, Lisa Falk, review of The Christmas Crocodile, p. 39; August, 1999, Ogla R. Barnes, review of Tickly Prickly; October, 2001, review of My Brother, the Robot, p. 148; July, 2003, Wendy Woodfill, review of An Ant's Day Off, p. 87; January, 2004, Rachel Fox, review of Just a Minute, p. 87; December, 2006, Robyn Gioia, review of Holbrook, p. 94.