Loehr, Mallory

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Loehr, Mallory

Personal

Married; children: one.

Addresses

Home and office—Brooklyn, NY.

Career

Author. Random House, New York, NY, editor. Worked previously as a children's book-store manager.

Writings

Trucks, illustrated by Harry McNaught, Random House (New York, NY), 1992.

The Little Red Barn, illustrated by Richard Bernal, Random House (New York, NY), 1994.

The Little Country Book, illustrated by Edward Miller, Random House (New York, NY), 1994.

The Little Little Book, illustrated by Rosiland Solomon, Random House (New York, NY), 1995.

The Princess Book: Every Girl Can Be a Princess—with Princess Parties, Recipes, Costumes, and More!, illustrated by Jan Palmer, Random House (New York, NY), 1996.

The Little Dollhouse, illustrated by Jan Lebeyka, Random House (New York, NY), 1996.

The Little Pirate Ship, illustrated by Diane Dawson Hearn, Random House (New York, NY), 1997.

Earth Magic, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Babe: A Little Pig Goes a Long Way, illustrated by Christopher Moroney, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Water Wishes, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Wind Spell, Random House (New York, NY), 2000.

Fire Dreams, Random House (New York, NY), 2001.

Unicorn Wings, illustrated by Pamela Silin-Palmer, Random House (New York, NY), 2006.

Dragon Egg, illustrated by Hala Wittwer, Random House (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

Mallory Loehr's children's books center on the magical worlds of fantasy and fiction. In Unicorn Wings, for example, she tells the story of a unicorn that has the power to heal with its mystical horn. However, more than anything, the unicorn wishes to have wings so that it may fly. Although the creature shares its wishes with everyone around it, its fails to materialize. One night the unicorn is visited by a white-winged mare that has broken its wing. The unicorn uses its magical healing horn to mend the mare's injury and in return the unicorn is given its own set of wings. A critic in Kirkus Reviews commented that Loehr's story, paired with dainty illustrations by Pamela Silin-Palmer, form a "confection" made "of what little girls are made of: rainbows, flowers, [and] twinkly stars."

Geared for elementary-grade readers, Water Wishes also falls within the fantasy genre. In this story, Loehr centers on three siblings who find a magical green bottle that can grant wishes. Polly and her brother Sam spot the gleaming green bottle in the ocean near where the two children are playing on the beach. At first the siblings are unable to retrieve the bottle, but in a twist of fate they find that their older brother, Joe, has gained possession of the same green bottle. After stealing the bottle from their brother, Polly and Sam encounter a series of adventures in which they are transformed into mermaids and octopuses. Ellen Mandel, in her assessment for Booklist, dubbed Water Wishes "a fun, exciting, and promising" children's book.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1999, Ellen Mandel, review of Water Wishes, p. 1830.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2006, review of Unicorn Wings, p. 1073.

Publishers Weekly, April 26, 1999, review of Water Wishes, p. 83.

School Library Journal, July, 1999, Carrie Schadle, review of Water Wishes, p. 76; September, 1999, Janie Schomberg, review of Babe: A Little Pig Goes a Long Way, p. 193; February, 2007, Susan Lissim, review of Unicorn Wings, p. 92.