The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn

“I still love to draw but have given up the idea of becoming an illustrator,” the author says. The Sara Summer, in 1979, she has written more than two dozen books for children and young adults. While Hahn did teach art at a junior high school for a short period and worked as an illustrator for the PBS children’s reading seriesĬover to Cover, she admits, “It was not until I was in my thirties and working as a children’s librarian that I had the confidence to think I might be able to write a book good enough to send to a publisher.” Since the publication of her first novel, That’s when I began thinking of becoming a writer and illustrator of children’s books.” By the time I was 13, my picture stories had become too long and complicated to tell without words. As a result of reading incessantly, I began making up stories of my own, but I told them in pictures, not words. Hahn describes her early storytelling days: “I came to writing through drawing and reading, my favorite subjects in school. Yet readers might be surprised to learn that she began her writing career as an artist. The veteran author has garnered starred reviews, spots on the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list, Edgar Award nominations, and state awards too numerous to count, not to mention winning the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The award-winning author discusses the inspirations behind her hair-raising ghost stories.Īlthough Mary Downing Hahn has written historical fiction, realistic fiction, and picture books, she is probably best known for her ghost stories. 1) By Angela Leeper Upper elementary school through middle school ALA Upcoming Annual Conferences & LibLearnXīook Links Sept.Related Groups, Organizations, Affiliates & Chapters.Dealing with censorship challenges at your library or need to get prepared for them? Visit our Fight Censorship page for easy-to-access resources.

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn