EISENBERG, Lisa 1949-

Personal

Born April 19, 1949, in Flushing, NY. Education: Swarthmore College, 1971.

Addresses

Home— 102 Eastwood Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850. office— c/o Author Mail, Dial Books for Young Readers, Dial Press, Dell Publishing, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

Career

Children's book author and editor.

Writings

JOKE AND RIDDLE BOOKS

(With Katy Hall) Fishy Riddles, illustrated by Simms Taback, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1983.

(With Katy Hall) Buggy Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Katy Hall) Grizzly Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1989.

(With Katy Hall) 101 Hopelessly Hilarious Jokes, Scholastic Inc. (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Katy Hall) Baseball Bloopers, Random House (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Katy Hall) Oddball Baseball, Random House (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Katy Hall) Snakey Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Katy Hall) Spacey Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Katy Hall) Batty Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Katy Hall) More Quickie Comebacks, Scholastic Inc. (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Katy Hall) Sheepish Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Katy Hall) Trick or Eeek!: And Other Ha Ha Halloween Riddles, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Katy Hall) Mummy Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Katy Hall) Bunny Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Katy Hall) Chickie Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Katy Hall) Easter Yolks: Egg-Cellent Riddles to Crack You Up, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Katy Hall) Hearty Har Har: Valentine Riddles You'll Love, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Katy Hall) Jingle Jokes: Christmas Riddles to Deck the Ha Ha Halls, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Katy Hall) Creepy Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Katy Hall) Puppy Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Katy Hall) Boo Who?: And Other Wicked Halloween Knock-knock Jokes, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Katy Hall) Easter Crack-ups: Knock-knock Jokes Funny-Side Up, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Katy Hall) Kitty Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Katy Hall) Olive You!: And Other Valentine Knock-knock Jokes You'll A-Door, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Katy Hall) Turkey Ticklers: And Other A-maize-ingly Corny Thanksgiving Knock-knock Jokes, Harper-Festival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Katy Hall) Hanukkah Ha-has: Knock-knock Jokes That Are a Latke Fun, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Katy Hall) Ho Ho Ho, Ha Ha Ha: Holly-arious Christmas Knock-knock Jokes, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Katy Hall) Ribbit Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Katy Hall) Summer Camp Crack-ups: And Lots S'more Knock-knock Jokes to Write Home About, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Katy Hall) Back-to-School Belly Busters: And Other Side-Splitting Knock-knock Jokes That Are Too Cool for School, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Katy Hall) Dino Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Katy Hall) Turkey Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2002.

Funny Bunny: Hilariously Hare-brained Easter Riddles, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2003.

Yule Laugh: Christmas Riddles and Winter Wisecracks, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2003.

Backpack Wisecracks: Back-to-School Riddles and Lunch-box Laughs, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2004.

Puppy Love: Valentine Riddles for the Young at Arf!, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Katy Hall) Piggy Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Katy Hall) Stinky Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2005.

OTHER

Falling Star, Fearon Pitman Publishers (Belmont, CA), 1978.

Fast-food King, Fearon Pitman Publishers (Belmont, CA), 1980.

Golden Idol, Fearon Pitman Publishers (Belmont, CA), 1980.

Killer Music, Fearon Pitman Publishers (Belmont, CA), 1980.

Man in the Cage, Fearon Education (Belmont, CA), 1981.

Mystery at Snowshoe Mountain Lodge, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1987.

Mystery at Bluff Point Dunes, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1988.

Leave It to Lexie, Viking (New York, NY), 1989.

Happy Birthday Lexie!, Viking (New York, NY), 1991.

Mystery at Camp Windingo, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1991.

The Story of Sitting Bull: Great Sioux Chief, Dell (New York, NY), 1991.

The Chickens, the Cow, and the Fox: A Fable, Silver Burdett & Ginn (Morristown, NJ), 1992.

Lexie on Her Own, Viking (New York, NY), 1992.

The Story of Babe Ruth: Baseball's Greatest Legend, Gareth Stevens Pub. (Milwaukee, WI), 1997.

Also author of novels Tiger Rose, Hit Man, Kidnap, The Paxton Cheerleaders: Go for It, Patti!, and The Payoff Game. Writer of television scripts for Public Television series 1-2-3 Contact.

Sidelights

Lisa Eisenberg once told Something about the Author: "In my writing I combine an interest in children, education, and, most importantly, humor." These interests are clearly reflected in the long list of riddle-and-joke books she has authored, many with collaborator Katy Hall. Each of Eisenberg and Hall's books contains a bundle of one-liners that focus on a particular subject. While entertaining, they also serve an important purpose; as Stephanie Zvirin noted in a review of Turkey Riddles for Booklist, these types of books "encourage reluctant readers to pick up a book." In Fishy Riddles, for example, readers are asked what Cinderella Dolphin wore to the ball ("Glass flippers!"), and what a frightened skin diver is called ("Chicken of the Sea!"). A School Library Journal contributor wrote of the book: "You get the picture, and every fish (or other marine creature) riddle you've ever groaned at is here…. Needless to say, kids will love it." The question "Why do kitties sing so well?" ("They're very mewsical") is posed in Kitty Riddles, which School Library Journal reviewer Olga R. Barnes described as "'purrfect' for the learning-to-read set." Hazel Rochman, writing in Booklist, praised Creepy Riddles as "Weird and lurid enough for Halloween howls," while Ilene Cooper maintained in the same magazine that Eisenberg and Hall's Piggy Riddles "will put many kids in hog heaven."

Before she began to focus almost exclusively on jokes and riddles, Eisenberg penned several biographies, as well as a number of novels designed for teen readers, among them Falling Star, wherein the body of deceased actor Guy Garrison has disappeared and detective Laura Brewster is put on the case. Eisenberg's "characters are kept to a minimum, and there's just the right amount of action and tension to keep readers involved," observed a Booklist contributor of the title. In Go for It, Patti!, part of the "Paxton Cheerleader" series, Eisenberg follows the lives of four girls on a seventh-grade cheerleading squad as they navigate the personal and social intricacies of middle-school life and bear up under the strains of being constantly upbeat. Chris Sherman praised the plot in Booklist, noting that the action is "nicely paced" and that pre-teen readers "will like the characters … and relish hints of books to come." For even younger readers, Eisenberg has penned several novels that focus on elementary schooler Lexie, who in Happy Birthday Lexie! is looking forward to turning ten. In what a Publishers Weekly reviewer dubbed a "sensitive story that clearly and concisely addresses family and peer relationships," the youngster decides to "share" her birthday with an unpopular classmate whose list of party guests overlapped with Lexie's.

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Eisenberg, Lisa, and Katy Hall, Fishy Riddles, illustrated by Simms Taback, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1983.

Eisenberg, Lisa, and Katy Hall, Kitty Riddles, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2000.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 1995, Chris Sherman, review of The Paxton Cheerleaders: Go for It, Patti!, p. 1004; April 1, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Sheepish Riddles, p. 1375; November 15, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of Chickie Riddles, p. 596; November 15, 1996, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Bunny Riddles, p. 596; August, 1997, Hazel Rochman, review of Mummy Riddles, p. 1909; February 1, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Puppy Riddles, p. 926; September 15, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Creepy Riddles, p. 233; February 15, 2000, Hazel Rochman, review of Kitty Riddles, p. 1123; April 15, 2001, Ilene Cooper, review of Ribbit Riddles, p. 1568; September 1, 2002, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Turkey Riddles, p. 140; March 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Piggy Riddles, p. 1191.

People Weekly, November 4, 1996, Kristin McMurran, review of Trick or Eeek!, p. 43.

Publishers Weekly, April 19, 1991, Diane Roback; Richard Donahue, review of Happy Birthday, Lexie!, p. 66; July 26, 1999, review of Chickie Riddles and Bunny Riddles, p. 93; September 25, 2000, Elizabeth Devereaux, review of Thanksgiving NOTES, p. 65.

School Library Journal, April, 2000, Olga R. Barnes, review of Kitty Riddles, p. 120; July, 2001, Maura Bresnahan, review of Ribbit Riddles, p. 94; October, 2001, review of Hanukkah Ha-Has: Knock-Knock Jokes That Are a Latke Fun, p. 65; February, 2002, Patricia Manning, review of Dino Riddles, p. 120; September, 2002, Mary Elam, review of Back-to-School Belly Busters: And Other Side-Splitting Knock-Knock Jokes That Are Too Cool for School, p. 212.

Scouting, October, 2000, review of A Halloween Bookshelf, p. 56.