Kidd, Ronald 1948-

Personal

Born April 29, 1948, in St. Louis, MO; son of Paul R. and Ida Sue (Smith) Kidd; married Yvonne Martin (a marketing executive), October 1, 1977; children: Margaret, Emily. Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1971; California State University, Long Beach, Certificate in Secondary Education, 1972.

Addresses

Home—1011 Stonewall Drive, Nashville, TN 37220. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Jodi Reamer, Writers House, Inc., 21 W. 26th St., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book author and editor. Educational Resource Associates, Los Angeles, CA, production manager, 1972–75; Family Films, Panorama City, CA, writer and producer, 1975–76; Bowmar/Noble Publishers, Inc., Los Angeles, editor, 1976–79; RK Associates, Altadena, CA, owner, 1979–85; Walt Disney Records, Burbank, CA, creative director, 1985–89; Kidd & Company, Inc., owner, 1989; United Methodist Publishing House, currently senior editor. Member of Edgar Allan Poe Award judging committee in young-adult category, 1991. Producer of sound recording, including Mr. Popper's Penguins.

Awards, Honors

Grammy Award nomination for Best Children's Recording, 1975, for Mr. Popper's Penguins; Family Circle Gold Leaf Award, 1981, for This Is Your Life: The Cheeseburger; CINE Golden Eagle award for Best Educational Film, 1982, for Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons; Children's Choice Award, 1983, for Dunker; Best Books of the Year selection, School Library Journal, and California Young Reader Medal nomination, California Reading Association, both 1983, both for Sizzle and Splat; Notable Books for the Teen Age designation, New York Public Library, 1984, for Who Is Felix the Great?; Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination for Best Young Adult Mystery, Mystery Writers of America, 1989, for Second Fiddle; O'Neill Playwrights Conference selection, 1992, for Tough Call, and 1994, for Christ of the Coopermans; New Southern Theatre Festival award, 2001, for Still Life; Marilyn Hall Award finalist, Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, 2003, for That's What Friends Are For; Chattanooga Centre Theatre Festival of New Plays award finalist, 2004, for No Small Miracle; New Works Festival winner, Actors Bridge Theatre, 2004, for Chops; five Gold record designations as producer or executive producer.

Writings

CHILDREN'S NOVELS

That's What Friends Are For, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1978.

Dunker, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1982.

Sizzle & Splat, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1983.

Who Is Felix the Great?, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1983.

The Glitch: A Computer Fantasy, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1985.

Second Fiddle: A Sizzle & Splat Mystery, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1988.

Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women, Lodestar (New York, NY), 1991.

Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial (novel), Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2006.

CHAPTER BOOKS

Family under Fire: A Story of the Civil War, illustrated by Gino D'Achille, Chattanooga Regional History Museum (Chattanooga, TN), 1995.

Undercover Kid: Tuna Surprise, illustrated by Andy Sklar, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2006.

Undercover Kid: The Comic-Book Kid, illustrated by Andy Sklar, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2008.

"SUM-WAY" INTERACTIVE CHAPTER BOOK SERIES

Downtown Detective, Pitman, 1985.

The Magic Record, Pitman, 1985.

Hills of Gold, Pitman, 1985.

Tiny, Pitman, 1985.

Planet of Dreams, Pitman, 1985.

"DANNY DORFMAN'S DREAM BAND" CHAPTER BOOK SERIES

A Legend in His Own Time, Puffin (New York, NY), 1992.

Rapunzel, Sort Of, Puffin (New York, NY), 1992.

The Case of the Missing Case, Puffin (New York, NY), 1992.

Meet Maximum Clyde, Puffin (New York, NY), 1992.

"DOUG" STORYBOOK SERIES

Doug's Money Madness, Dalmatian Press, 1997.

Doug's Big Show, Dalmatian Press, 1997.

Doug's Trading Places, Dalmatian Press, 1997.

Doug's New Roommate, Dalmatian Press, 1997.

PICTURE BOOKS

(With Tom Sullivan) Common Senses, Ideals, 1982.

The Nutcracker, Ideals, 1985.

The Littlest Angel Earns His Halo, Ideals, 1985.

The Littlest Angel Meets the Newest Angel, Ideals, 1985.

Grandpa's Hammer, Habitat for Humanity, 1995.

Raising the Roof, Habitat for Humanity, 1995.

Building Friends, Habitat for Humanity, 1996.

Doorway to the World, Habitat for Humanity, 1996.

"BOBBY'S WORLD" BOARD-BOOK SERIES

Are We There Yet?, Andrews McMeel (St. Louis, MO), 1995.

Bobby, That's My Name!, Andrews McMeel (St. Louis, MO), 1995.

Sleepover Scare, Andrews McMeel (St. Louis, MO), 1995.

Tooth or Dare, Andrews McMeel (St. Louis, MO), 1995.

FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Sound Story Books (set; contains Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Bambi, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, Snow White, and Peter Pan), Sight & Sound/Western Publishing, 1990–91.

On Top of Old Smokey: A Collection of Songs and Stories from Appalachia, Ideals Children's Books, 1992.

Disney's Cinderella, Western Publishing, 1993.

Little Big League, Andrews McMeel (St. Louis, MO), 1994.

Yogi Bear, Lost and Found, Andrews McMeel (St. Louis, MO), 1995.

Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Grolier (Danbury, CT), 1996.

Disney's The Lion King, Running Press, 1998.

Scooby-doo: The Haunted Carnival, Golden Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Author of more than thirty titles for Walt Disney Productions book-and-tape programs, including The Rocketeer, Dick Tracy, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Con- tributor to reading programs, including Point 32 Reading Program, Crosswinds Reading Program, HILO Reading Program, and My Fun with Reading.

SCREENPLAYS

Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons (film), Walt Disney Productions, 1982.

Skills for the New Technology (three educational films), Walt Disney Productions, 1983.

I Love a Computer (educational film), Walt Disney Productions, 1983.

(Author of story) "The Secret Life of Ricky Stratton," Silver Spoons (television series), National Broadcasting Companies, Inc., 1984.

STAGE PLAYS

Stanley Carducci's Guide to Women, Dramatic Publishing (Woodstock, IL), 1991.

Tough Call, produced 1992.

Christ of the Coopermans, produced 1993.

Still Life, produced 2001.

The Last Shaker, produced 2002.

That's What Friends Are For, produced 2003.

Chops, produced 2004.

No Small Miracle, produced 2004.

Adaptations

Dunker was adapted as a stage play and published in Scholastic Scope magazine.

Sidelights

Prolific Nashville-based author and playwright Ronald Kidd began writing juvenile and young-adult novels as a young man. Since then he has branched out in his writing to publish award-winning plays, including Chops, The Last Shaker, and No Small Miracle. Among his young-adult novels, Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial was praised as "a timely and engaging presentation of an early chapter in an ongoing national story" by Horn Book contributor Vicky Smith. Framing his story with the events surrounding the famous Scopes Trial, in which two of the most famous attorneys of the early twentieth century argued whether evolution should be taught in public schools, Kidd introduces a fifteen year old who watches as her Tennessee town becomes the subject of national attention when it hosts the trial. Kidd, who personally interviewed several witnesses to the trial, was praised as a talented storyteller, and a Kirkus Reviews writer cited the "depth of character and ideals" presented in the novel. Kimberly Monaghan concluded in School Library Journal that Kidd's "heartfelt story of a likeable girl maturing through an unforgettable summer" serves as "a wonderful piece of literature."

Kidd got his start in educational publishing, working for a time at Walk Disney Records where he held the title of director of product development. While with Disney, Kidd had the opportunity to serve as producer and executive producer of many Walt Disney Records, winning him five Gold records, each one selling 500,000 units or more. From there Kidd moved on to a position as senior editor of general-interest resources at the United Methodist Publishing House. In addition to being an author, editor, and playwright, Kidd also produces audio and video programs.

Kidd once noted: "I guess you could say I became a writer because of the 1971 Los Angeles earthquake. In that quake, a number of library buildings were damaged and the only way to continue serving those branches was through the use of a bookmobile. Fate (known to government employees as civil service) decreed that I should be the driver.

"Driving a bookmobile is a wonderful job. You drive to your destination in the morning, you drive back in the afternoon, and in between there's nothing to do but take your pick of five thousand books, most of them for children, and read. Somewhere between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte's Web I decided I could write one myself. These days I no longer make my living driving a bookmobile. Instead, I produce children's books and records, and I'm a writer."

Biographical and Critical Sources

Booklist, January 1, 1992, Ilene Cooper, review of Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women, p. 33; December 1, 1992, Janice Del Negro, review of On Top of Old Smokey: A Collection of Songs and Stories from Appalachia, p. 668; December 15, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial, p. 41.

Book Report, March–April, 1991, Elizabeth Stumpf, review of Second Fiddle: A Sizzle & Splat Mystery, p. 35.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July, 1988, review of Second Fiddle, p. 232; January, 1992, review of Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women, p. 130; February, 2006, Loretta Gaffney, review of Monkey Town, p. 271.

Horn Book, March–April, 2006, Vickey Smith, review of Monkey Town, p. 189.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2005, review of Monkey Town, p. 1323.

Kliatt, January, 2006, Claire Rosser, review of Monkey Town, p. 9.

Publishers Weekly, October, 1992, review of On Top of Old Smokey, p. 72; November 15, 2001, review of Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women, p. 73; May 18, 1992, review of A Legend in His Own Mind, p. 70.

School Library Journal, March, 1986, review of The Glitch: A Computer Fantasy, p. 164; August, 1988, Judy Greenfield, review of Second Fiddle, p. 95; January, 1992, Todd Morning, review of Sammy Carducci's Guide to Women, p. 114; February, 2006, Kimberly Monaghan, review of Monkey Town, p. 133.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1988, review of Second Fiddle, p. 182; February, 2006, Ed Goldberg, review of Monkey Town, p. 488.

ONLINE

Ronald Kidd Home Page,http://www.ronaldkidd.com (September 10, 2006).