Llama in the Library - Hardcover

Hurwitz, Johanna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688161383 ISBN 13: 9780688161385

Publisher: Morrow Junior Books, 1999

Synopsis

In this coming-of-age story, Adam Fine is very glad to have his pet llama to turn to as he grapples with his new baby sister, a spunky new girl at school, and a ghost-hunting adventure.

About this title

About the Author:

Johanna Hurwitz is the author of over five dozen books for young readers. She is the recipient of many state awards, including the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, and the Garden State Children's Choice Award. She lives in Great Neck, NY, and Wilmington, VT.

Johanna Hurwitz always knew she wanted to be a writer. She started by telling stories to her brother, who is six years her junior, and she's been making up stories ever since. Born and raised in New York City, she earned her B.A. degree from Queens College and went on to receive a master's in library science from Columbia University. She embarked on a career as a children's librarian, but she never forgot that one day she wanted to write books, too.

She worked at the New York Public Library and in a variety of other public and school library positions. She also taught graduate courses in children's literature and storytelling at Queens College. When she and her husband, Uri--a college teacher and writer-and their children, Nomi and Beni, moved to Long Island, she continued her library work.

Although she had told original stories to her children, it was not until they were well along in school that Mrs. Hurwitz actually began to write down her stories. That's why, when children ask her how long it takes to write a book, she replies that her first, Busybody Nora, took her whole life.

But since then she has been writing with regularity, portraying with humor and sympathy the everyday incidents that are so important to children. She is particularly fond of seven- to nine-year-olds, because they are " so very open and get excited about small things," and she enjoys writing realistic fiction for and about them.

That these youngsters are equally fond of Mrs. Hurwitz's books is obvious. She has received many child-chosen state awards, including the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, the Garden State Children's Choice Award, the West Virginia Children's Book Award, and others.

In recent years, Johanna Hurwitz has crisscrossed the United States from Juneau, Alaska, to Jackson, Mississippi, and from San Diego, California, to St. Albans, Vermont. She has even spoken abroad, from Morocco to Mozambique and from Portugal to Nicaragua. On these trips she has met and spoken to schoolchildren, teachers, librarians, and parents. She has made many new friends and has often brought home new ideas for her next book.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6Sometimes even a favorite author can get things wrong. Fans of Hurwitz, and particularly of the book A Llama in the Family (Morrow, 1994), will want to think twice before choosing this title. The book covers incidents that occur during Adam Fines fifth-grade year, starting with a sex-education lesson and ending with a chance to discuss llamas with the state governor. Along the way, he and two friends hunt ghosts, chase ladybugs, and learn about bicycle safety. Adam also finds himself interested in a girl, and gains another sibling. The story is episodic with multiple, unconnected plot elements that are never fully explored or developed. Characters remain two-dimensional for the most part, depending on the readers previous knowledge of them, and some of their more delightful attributes (noted in the first book) are missing here. Even the llamas are only peripheral to the story.Darcy Schild, Schwegler Elementary School, Lawrence, KS
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Morrow Junior Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0688161383
• ISBN 13: 9780688161385
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 113
• Illustrator: Graham Mark