Godwin, Laura 1956- (Nola Buck)

Personal

Born 1956, in Alberta, Canada. Education: Attended Calgary University. Hobbies and other interests: Photography, poetry.

Addresses

Home—New York, NY.

Career

Author and editor.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Forest, illustrated by Stacey Schuett, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Little White Dog, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1998.

The Flower Girl, illustrated by John Wallace, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

Barnyard Prayers, illustrated by Brian Selznick, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

Happy and Honey, illustrated by Jane Chapman, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Honey Helps, illustrated by Jane Chapman, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Ann M. Martin) The Doll People, illustrated by Brian Selznick, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

The Best Fall of All, illustrated by Jane Chapman, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Central Park Serenade, illustrated by Barry Root, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Happy Christmas, Honey!, illustrated by Jane Chapman, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2002.

What the Baby Hears, illustrated by Mary Morgan, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Ann M. Martin) The Meanest Doll in the World, illustrated by Brian Selznick, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2003.

The Ring Bearer, illustrated by John Wallace, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2006.

FOR CHILDREN; UNDER PSEUDONYM NOLA BUCK

The Basement Stairs: A Spooky Pop-up Book, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1994.

Gotcha!: A Spooky Pop-up Book, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1994.

Halloween Parade: A Spooky Pop-up Book, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1994.

The Littlest Witch: A Spooky Pop-up Book, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1994.

Creepy Crawly Critters and Other Halloween Tongue Twisters, illustrated by Sue Truesdell, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Sid and Sam, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Morning in the Meadow, illustrated by Holly Keller, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

Oh, Cats!, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Santa's Short Suit Shrunk, and Other Christmas Tongue Twisters, illustrated by Sue Truesdell, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

How a Baby Grows, illustrated by Pamela Paparone, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1998.

Hey, Little Baby!, illustrated by R.W. Alley, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1999.

Sidelights

Laura Godwin is the author of several critically acclaimed picture books for children, including Happy and Honey and Central Park Serenade, as well as collaborating with Ann M. Martin on The Doll People and its follow-up chapter book The Meanest Doll in the World. Under the pseudonym Nola Buck, Godwin has also penned a number of easy readers for the early-elementary grades as well as entertaining interactive titles such as Gotcha!: A Spooky Pop-up Book.

A native of Alberta, Godwin set her picture book Forest on a Canadian farm. While planting potatoes in a forest clearing, a young girl named Jeannie hears a newborn fawn bleating for its mother in the nearby woods. When her parents realize that the doe will not return, they allow Jeannie to care for the fawn overnight and then take it to a wildlife refuge. "Jeannie's attachment and concern for the abandoned fawn is palpable," observed Horn Book contributor Lauren Adams, and Carolyn Phelan wrote in Booklist that Godwin's "writing respects both the child's love of the deer and the best interests of the animal." In the verse collection Barnyard Prayers, a little boy enters a fantasy world as he puts the animals in his toy farm to bed. "Each poem is an exercise in empathy," wrote Joanna Rudge Long in Horn Book, the critic adding that the prayers "evoke not only the care between child and toy, farmer and animal, and parent and child, but also that between Creator and creature."

In Happy and Honey Godwin introduces a lively, tiger-striped kitten named Honey and her sleepy canine pal, Happy. To get her dozing puppy companion up and about, Honey offers Happy a toy, kisses him, and washes his tail and nose before he finally wakes. The two friends playfully tussle over a bone in Honey Helps. After Happy buries the bone in a big hole, Honey digs a smaller hole and retrieves the bone for her companion. Happy and Honey frolic together on a chilly autumn day in a further book in the series, The Best Fall of All, while Happy Christmas, Honey! follows the kitten's disastrous efforts to prepare for the holiday, including decorating the tree, baking cookies, wrapping presents, and singing carols. Both Happy and Honey and Honey Helps "have simple story lines," according to School Library Journal reviewer Wendy S. Carroll, the reviewer describing the titles as "good choices for youngsters just learning to read." "The limited vocabulary and intentional repetition may well make it easier for youngsters to recognize words," added a critic in Publishers Weekly. In Booklist, Kathy Broderick remarked that the "word repetition, simple sentences, and familiar language" in Honey Helps will appeal to beginning readers. "Kids may see a bit of themselves in the helpful Honey," Ilene Cooper stated in her Booklist review of Happy Christmas, Honey!

Using rhymed couplets, Godwin presents an ode to a famous New York City refuge in Central Park Serenade. "With very few words, the author creates a living picture of the city and its green space," noted Susan Marie Pitard in a review of the picture book for School Library Journal. Brought to life in illustrations by Barry Root, Godwin's story follows a young boy as he spends a day at the boating pond with his father and friends. "Offering a melodic read-aloud, this aptly titled, buoyant book should please young city-and country-dwellers alike," predicted a critic in Publishers Weekly.

Featuring illustrations by artust Brian Selznick, The Doll People concerns a family of antique English dolls who have lived in the same Victorian dollhouse for one hundred years. When Annabelle Doll finds a journal that may hold a clue to her Aunt Sarah's disappearance forty-five years earlier, she enlists the help of her new neighbor, the all-plastic Tiffany Funcraft, to locate the missing relative. Godwin and Martin "provide plenty of action and suspense, yet it is their skillfully crafted details about the dolls' personalities and daily routines that prove most memorable," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In the sequel, The Meanest Doll in the World, Annabelle and Tiffany encounter the wicked Princess Mimi, who rules other dolls through fear and intimidation. A critic in Kirkus Reviews praised the "indelible mingling of wit, action, characterization, and art," and School Library Journal contributor Eva Mitnick stated that Godwin and Martin's "fantasy is destined to be a favorite for years to come."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of Creepy Crawly Critters and Other Halloween Tongue Twisters, p. 168; August 1, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of Sid and Sam, p. 1910; November 15, 1996, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Oh, Cats!, p. 596; September 15, 1997, Hazel Rochman, review of Santa's Short Suit Shrunk, and Other Christmas Tongue Twisters, p. 237; December 1, 1997, Roger Sutton, review of Santa's Short Suit Shrunk, and Other Christmas Tongue Twisters, p. 695; May 1, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of Forest, p. 1524; May 15, 1998, John Peters, review of Little White Dog, p. 1631; February 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Hey, Little Baby!, p. 978; August 1, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of The Doll People, p. 2140; May 1, 2002, Shelley Townsend-Hudson, review of What the Baby Hears, p. 1532; June 1, 2002, Lauren Peterson, review of Central Park Serenade, p. 1737; November 1, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Happy Christmas, Honey!, p. 507; December 1, 2002, Kathy Broderick, review of The Best Fall of All, p. 674; October 15, 2003, Karin Snelson, review of The Meanest Doll in the World, p. 412.

Horn Book, May-June, 2000, Lauren Adams, review of Forest, p. 343; March-April, 2000, Joann Rudge Long, review of Barnyard Prayers, p. 205; September-October, 2002, Karla Kuskin, review of Central Park Serenade, p. 552.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2002, review of What the Baby Hears, p. 335; March 15, 2002, review of Central Park Serenade, p. 411; November 1, 2002, review of Happy Christmas, Honey!, p. 1618; August 1, 2003, review of The Meanest Doll in the World, p. 1020; January 15, 2006, review of The Ring Bearer, p. 85.

New York Times Book Review, November 19, 2000, Krystyna Goddu, review of The Doll People, p. 45; January 18, 2004, Jane Margolies, review of The Meanest Doll in the World, p. 18.

Publishers Weekly, September 19, 1994, reviews of The Littlest Witch: A Spooky Pop-up Book, Gotcha!: A Spooky Pop-up Book, and The Basement Stairs: A Spooky Pop-up Book, p. 25; May 25, 1998, review of Little White Dog, p. 88; July 3, 2000, review of The Doll People, p. 71; October 9, 2000, review of Happy and Honey and Honey Helps, p. 86; February 25, 2002, reviews of Central Park Serenade and What the Baby Hears, p. 64; August 11, 2003, review of The Meanest Doll in the World, p. 280; October 6, 2003, review of The Doll People, p. 87; November 10, 2003, review of The Meanest Doll in the World, p. 37.

School Library Journal, December, 2000, Wendy S. Carroll, reviews of Happy and Honey and Honey Helps, p. 108; March, 2000, Barbara Chatton, review of Barnyard Prayers, p. 225; November, 2000, Kathie Meizner, review of The Doll People, p. 128; February, 2001, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of The Flower Girl, p. 100; October, 2002, Mara Alpert, review of Happy Christmas, Honey!, p. 59, and Pamela K. Bomboy, review of The Best Fall of All, p. 111; May, 2002, Susan Marie Pitard, review of Central Park Serenade, p. 114; June, 2002, Joy Fleishhacker, review of What the Baby Hears, p. 96; October, 2003, Eva Mitnick, review of The Meanest Doll in the World, p. 130.