MADARAS, Lynda 1947-

Personal

Born July 11, 1947, in NJ; daughter of Albert Emil (in sales) and Margaret (a certified public accountant; maiden name, O'Reiley) Vogel; married George Madaras, May, 1969 (divorced, July, 1982); children: Area. Education: Attended Cornell University, 1968, and San Francisco State University, 1970; Carnegie-Mellon University, B.A., 1969.

Addresses

Home— CA. Agent— c/o Author Mail, Newmarket Press, 18 East 48th St., New York, NY 10017.

Career

Writer. President of board of directors of Sequoyah School. Has appeared as a guest on television shows, including Oprah, Today, and Good Morning America.

Writings

Child's Play, Peace Press (Culver City, CA), 1977.

(With Pam Palewicz-Rousseau) The Alphabet Connection, Schocken (New York, NY), 1979.

(With Leigh Adams) Great Expectations: How to Make Thirty Easy, Fast, Sexy, Cheerful Maternity Outfits That Let You Feel Like a Woman as Well as a Mother-to-be, illustrated by Marianne Anderson, photographs by Margaret Grundstein, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1980.

(With Jane Patterson and Peter Schick) Womancare: A Gynecological Guide to Your Body, Avon (New York, NY), 1981.

Mother/Daughter, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1983.

Woman/Doctor: The Autobiography of Jane Patterson, Avon (New York, NY), 1983.

(With daughter, Area Madaras) What's Happening to My Body: A Growing-Up Guide for Mothers and Daughters, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1983, revised edition published as The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Daughters, illustrated by Claudia Ziroli and Jackie Aher, 1987, revised edition published as The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Girls: The New Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Daughters, illustrated by Simon Sullivan and Jackie Aher, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Dane Saavedra) The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Sons, illustrated by Jackie Aher, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1984, revised edition published as The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Boys: The New Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Sons, illustrated by Simon Sullivan and Jackie Aher, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(With daughter, Area Madaras) Lynda Madaras' Growing-Up Guide for Girls, illustrated by Jackie Aher, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1986, published as My Feelings, My Self, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Lynda Madaras Talks to Teens About AIDS: An Essential Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Young People, illustrated by Jackie Aher, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1988.

(With daughter, Area Madaras) My Body, My Self: The "What's Happening to My Body" Workbook for Girls, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 1993.

(With daughter, Area Madaras) My Body, My Self: The "What's Happening to My Body" Workbook for Boys, New Market Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Ready, Set, Grow!: A "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Younger Girls, illustrated by Linda Davick, Newmarket Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Sidelights

Lynda Madaras has become one of the classic authors of sexual education books for boys and girls who are undergoing puberty. She became interested in the topic when her daughter, Area, was approaching puberty. As Madaras explained to Publishers Weekly interviewer Sally Lodge, "I went to the library hoping to find a book that would help to explain the process [of puberty], only to find that there was no such book." So Madaras, with Area's help, wrote What's Happening to My Body? A Growing-Up Guide for Mothers and Daughters.

A companion book for boys soon followed. In the years since the books were first released, they have been through several revisions and new editions and remain perennial favorites. Major changes occurred in the 2000 editions, The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Boys: The New Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Sons and The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Girls: The New Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Daughters. Reflecting a steady decline in the age at which girls, in particular, begin puberty, Madaras reworked the books to be accessible to a younger audience. "As in the previous editions, the tone is matter-of-fact and comforting," Gillian Engberg commented in a Booklist review of both books.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 1993, Stephanie Zvirin, interview with Madaras, pp. 1584-1585; September 1, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Girls: The New Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Daughters, and The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Boys: The New Growing-Up Guide for Parents and Sons, p. 99; October 1, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Ready, Set, Grow!: A "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Younger Girls, p. 314.

Publishers Weekly, June 10, 1983, review of What's Happening to My Body?: A Growing-Up Guide for Mothers and Daughters, p. 59; January 16, 1987, review of Lynda Madaras's Growing-Up Guide for Girls, p. 79; September 30, 1988, review of Lynda Madaras Talks to Teens about AIDS: An Essential Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Young People, p. 71; April 2, 2001, Sally Lodge, "Growing-Up Books Come of Age," interview with Madaras, p. 23.

School Library Journal, November, 1988, Anne Osborn, review of Lynda Madaras Talks to Teens About AIDS, pp. 137-138; March, 1995, Virginia Jeschelnig, review of My Feelings, My Self, p. 142; July, 2003, Joyce Adams Burner, review of The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Boys, pp. 78-79; November, 2003, Joyce Adams, review of Ready, Set, Grow!, p. 164.*