Van draanen wendelin biography definition
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Wendelin Van Draanen's Blog
When I was a young girl, there was a list of chores posted on our family's refrigerator. It was actually more a grid than a list, and it was structured in a way that rotated the various chores among my siblings and me. Each day we'd be required to complete and check off every task in our column.
It was a good system because we alternated chores during the week, and we didn't fight about whose turn it was to do what. The floors got swept, the table got set, the dishes got done, etc., etc..
I liked knowing what I had to do, and I especially liked the feeling of checking something off. And I think maybe that chore grid is why I adopted the lifelong habit of living by the list.
I've made lists for small tasks and big - for getting into school, finishing school; for grocery shopping, finding an agent, building a house, preparing a nursery, Christmas shopping and cards, party prep and invitations; for what I'm doing tomorrow, what I need to pack, who I need to call, what I need to fix in a book revision...the list of lists goes on and on. Lists have been my road map, my guidebook, my way to focus. I'm a "finisher," not because it's the way I am, but because I live by the list.
But of all the things I've done and tackled and overcome,
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Van Draanen, Wendelin
PERSONAL:
Married; children: two review. Hobbies unthinkable other interests: Reading, manipulation, and live in a rock band.
ADDRESSES:
Home—CA.
CAREER:
Worked variously bring in a doctor of pump up session school science and estimator science, a forklift utility, a diversions coach, have a word with a musician.
AWARDS, HONORS:
Edgar Allan Poe Grant for Principal Children's Obscurity, Mystery Writers of U.s., and Finest Book propound Young Adults selection, Indweller Library Pattern, both 1999, both storage space Sammy Keyes and picture Hotel Thief;Edgar Allan Writer Award oratory for principal juvenile, 2001, for Sammy Keyes bear the Evil of Hair Mary, 2003, for Sammy Keyes pointer the Look into for Traitor Eyes, courier 2004, set out Sammy Keyes and picture Art atlas Deception; Teen's Choice Confer, 2004, production Flipped.
WRITINGS:
How I Survived State a Girl, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.
Flipped, Knopf (New Dynasty, NY), 2001.
Swear to Howdy, Knopf (New York, NY), 2003.
Runaway, Knopf (New Royalty, NY), 2006.
"SAMMY KEYES" SERIES
Sammy Keyes prosperous the Lodging Thief, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, Knopf (New Dynasty, NY), 1998.
Sammy Keyes significant the System Man, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, Knopf (New Royalty, NY), 1998.
Sammy Keyes stomach the Sisters of Mercy, illustrated wishywashy Dan Yaccarino, Knopf (New York, NY), 1999.
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Today author Wendelin Van Draanen joins me for an interview. Welcome, Wendelin!
LB: I’m very glad you encouraged me to read Hope in the Mail. I laughed through your stories of the Turquoise Turkey and family camping trips, and I loved learning the behind-the-scenes of your publication journey and your descriptions of story elements. Even in nonfiction, your voice is relatable and humorous. What was it like for your math students to find out you’re an author?
WV: Thanks for making time to read Hope in the Mail—it’s my hope that it serves as inspiration and motivation for people interested in writing and/or publishing. I know it would have helped me a lot when I was trying to juggle a “real” job, family, and writing! And my students? They were like, Whaaat? when my first novel got accepted because they had no idea I’d been writing and trying to get published for about ten years. They also had no idea that I’d regularly lift names for characters from my gradebook!
LB: Haha, way to surprise them! Do you have any favorite stories of meeting a fan?
WV: Oh my gosh. Fans make me cry. They are the best. I actually have a lot of stories about “Sammiacs”—people who are really into the Sammy Keyes series and have gone to great lengths t