Jeanne Birdsall | |
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Born | 1951 (age 72–73) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1] |
Occupation | Novelist, photographer |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Boston University California College of Arts and Crafts |
Period | 2005–present |
Genre | Children's literature, adventure novels |
Notable works | The Penderwicks |
Notable awards | National Book Award 2005 |
Website | |
jeannebirdsall |
Jeanne Birdsall (born 1951) is an American photographer and writer of children's books. She is best known for her five-volume series about the Penderwick family. The Penderwicks, the first book in the series, won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[2]
Birdsall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in the suburbs. Birdsall has one sibling, a sister who is four years older than her. She decided to become a writer at the age of ten, but she didn't start until she was forty-one. She worked first on other jobs, most notably as a photographer, and some of her work has been displayed in galleries around the world.[citation needed]
Birdsall's first book was published when she was 54. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy introduced the Penderwick sisters and won the 2005 National Book Award.[2] Her second book was a sequel, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (2008). Her third book was The Penderwicks at Point Mouette (2011), followed by The Penderwicks in Spring (2015).[3] The fifth and final book in the series, The Penderwicks at Last, was published on May 15, 2018.[4]
Birdsall's first picture book, Flora's Very Windy Day, was illustrated by Matt Phelan and published under the Clarion Books imprint in August 2010, and followed by Lucky and Squash in 2012.