Patricia Reilly Giff Biography
As a reading teacher for 20 years, the educational consultant for Dell Yearling and Young
Yearling books, an adviser and instructor to aspiring writers, and the
author of more than 60 books for children, Patricia Reilly Giff has spent
her entire life surrounded by books.
After earning a B.A. degree from Marymount College, Giff took the advice
of the school's dean and decided to become a teacher. During the 20 years of her teaching career, she earned an M.A. from St. John's University, and a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University.
Patricia Reilly Giff and her husband
reside in Weston, Connecticut. They have three children and five
grandchildren. In 1990, Giff opened The
Dinosaur's Paw, a children's bookstore named after one of her Kids of the
Polk Street School novels.
Throughout the year, Giff visits schools and libraries around the country
and speaks to her readers about her books, and about writing. When
discussing her work, Giff claims, "I have no special talent, you know.
I never took a writing course before I began to write." She believes
that "anyone who has problems, or worries, anyone who laughs and cries,
anyone who feels can write. It's only talking on paper .... talking about
the things that matter to us."
Patricia Reilly Giff has received the Newbery Honor for Pictures of
Hollis Woods and Lily's Crossing, which is also a Boston Globe–Horn
Book Honor Book. Nory Ryan's Song was named an ALA Best Book for
Young Adults and an ALA Notable Book. Willow Run, a sequel to Lily's Crossing was published in 2005.
This biography was last updated on 06/12/2011.
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