Author Connections by our 5th Graders

Did you know ... ??

Judy Blume based some of her books, like Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, on her own life as a little girl.  by Ellie C

Norman Bridwell was born in the country like his characters in the Clifford books.  He named the girl Emily Elizabeth after his daughter.   by Trent R                                                 
He decided on the Clifford stories by walking on the street and seeing a girl and her humongous red dog.  by Jacob S

Marc Brown based Mr. Ratburn in his Arthur series on the meanest algebra teacher he ever had!  by Maria                                                                                                     
He based many characters in his books on real people in his life.  by Abby E

Eric Carle's books have settings that look like graphic designs because before he was an author he was a graphic designer.  by Jay B

Andrew Clements starting writing because his English teacher gave him an "A" on his report card and she wrote "This poem is so funny. This should be published."  by Chase B

Joanna Cole writes The Magic School Bus books.  Her favorite subjects in school were science and writing; she also had a fascination with plants and animals in her backyard.  by Ryan D

Jean Fritz loves to research important events and people in history; this is why her books are historic.  by Porter A                                                                                          When Jean Fritz sits on a rock and looks out at sea she thinks of Christopher Columbus sailing a ship.  That's why she wrote the book "The Lost Colony of Roanoke."  by Connor G

Kevin Henkes has always loved school; that's why his books are about a mouse either at or going to school.  by Maddie

James Howe came up with the title Bunnicula because when he was small he'd make up words to make his big brothers laugh.   by Kyndra

Joanna Hurwitz based her characters Nora and Teddy on her own children.  by Jack        
Her parents met in a second-hand bookshop so she decided to become a librarian.  by Samantha 

Pat Hutchins has a character named Sam in her books "Happy Birthday Sam" and "The Doorbell Rang" because she has a son named Sam.   by Eryn

Leo Lionni spent most of his free time in Amsterdam's museums teaching himself to draw.  by Riley

Arnold Lobel got the idea of a frog and toad when his children brought home a frog and a toad for the winter.  by Dalya W

Jonathan London writes the Froggy books.  He started writing about frogs because his 2 young sons looked like big, fat frogs when they got all dressed up to go out in the winter.  by Vasu

James Marshall puts his characters in his stories in situations he would hate to be in!  by Taylor S

Patricia Polacco uses traditions in her books that she used in her real life.  by Noah          
Her books are about her family's traditions and about overcoming obstacles.  by Chase B

David Shannon wrote a book called "Good Boy, Fergus" that was inspired by his own dog named Fergus.  by Maria V

Seymour Simon was a teacher for 20 years; then he became a nonfiction writer to teach young readers all they want or need to  know in a way they enjoy.  by Gavin

Gertrude Chandler Warner had a little boy and a big sister in her Boxcar Children books because she had a big sister and a little brother herself.  by Rachel                               
She lived across from a train depot which made her think about writing the series about the Boxcar Children.  by Michael M

E.B. White loved animals so much that he started his own farm and wrote all of his books about animals and their lives.  by Shannon                                                                   
He often wrote fantasy stories about happy farm animals since most animals didn't have a happy ending (by getting butchered) and anything can happen on paper.  by Zack H