Blumenthal, Deborah

views updated

Blumenthal, Deborah

Personal

Female.

Addresses

Agent —c/o Author Mail, Clarion Books, 215 Park Ave., New York, NY 10003. E-mail —[email protected].

Career

Journalist, nutritionist, and children's book writer.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (Houston chapter).

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

The Chocolate-covered Cookie Tantrum, illustrated by Harvey Stevenson, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Aunt Claire's Yellow Beehive Hair, illustrations by Mary GrandPre, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2001.

Ice Palace, illustrated by Ted Rand, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Don't Let the Peas Touch!, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, Arthur A. Levine Books (New York, NY), 2004.

The Pink House at the Seashore, illustrated by Doug Chayka, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2005.

FOR ADULTS

The New York Book of Beauty, City & Co. (New York, NY), 1995.

Beauty: The Little Black Book for New York's Glamour Girls, City & Co. (New York, NY), 1997.

Fat Chance: A Love Story of Food and Fantasy, Red Dress Ink (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

Regular contributor to New York Times; home-design columnist for Long Island Newsday. Also contributor to New York Daily News, Washington Post, Lost Angeles Times, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Women's Day, Family Circle, Self, and Vogue.

Work in Progress

Charlie, for HarperCollins; What Men Want, for Red Dress Ink, 2006.

Sidelights

A former New Yorker who now makes her home in Texas, journalist, nutritionist, and children's book author Deborah Blumenthal has published numerous light-
[Image Not Available]
hearted picture books for kids, among them Don't Let the Peas Touch and Other Stories, Aunt Claire's Yellow Beehive Hair, and Ice Palace. Praising Aunt Claire's Yellow Beehive Hair in Publishers Weekly, a critic dubbed the work "a family portrait to savor," while in School Library Journal Jeanne Clancy Watkins wrote that, "warm and nostalgic," Blumenthal's story about a young girl learning the history behind her family tree "might inspire oral-history research among young readers."

In Don't Let the Peas Touch! readers are introduced to sisters Annie and Sophie through a series of three short stories. Even though the sisters have very different personalities, they learn to appreciate each other's differences by meeting a series of challenging events, their adventures accompanied by Timothy Basil Ering's acrylic illustrations. Reviewing the book, Carol Ann Wilson wrote in School Library Journal that "The dynamics of sibling relationships, both mundane and meaningful, are expertly captured" by Blumenthal. A Kirkus Reviews critic also enjoyed the book, stating: "Here's a right-on picture of a close, if not always smooth, relationship that will make knowing readers grin."

Ice Palace delves into the planning process behind a town's annual winter carnival. Every year since 1897 the townspeople of Saranac Lake, New York celebrate winter, capping off their carnival with the construction of a gigantic ice palace. In Blumenthal's book events are seen through the eyes of a young narrator who recounts preparations for the unveiling of the ice construction. The story is accompanied by "sparkling watercolors that convey the cold, the excitement, and the community spirit, as well as the physical and emotional challenges that the frigid tasks demand," wrote Booklist reviewer Julie Cummins. Kathleen Kelly MacMillan also enjoyed the book, writing in School Library Journal that "Children will be fascinated by this unusual tradition, and the girl's personal relationship to one of the workers draws readers deeper into the tale."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Aunt Claire's Yellow Beehive Hair, p. 1688; October 15, 2003, Julie Cummins, review of Ice Palace, p. 415; March 15, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Fat Chance, p. 1274.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2004, review of Don't Let the Peas Touch!, p. 957.

Publishers Weekly, September 23, 1996, review of The Chocolate-covered-Cookie Tantrum, p. 75; April 23, 2001, review of Aunt Claire's Yellow Beehive Hair, p. 77; December 1, 2003, review of Ice Palace, p. 55.

School Library Journal, July, 2001, Jeanne Clancy Watkins, review of Aunt Claire's Yellow Beehive Hair, p. 72; October, 2003, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of Ice Palace, p. 114; November, 2004, Carol Ann Wilson, review of Don't Let the Peas Touch!, p. 91.