Karen Hesse (Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature) (Volume 19) - Hardcover

Rosemary Oliphant-Ingham is associate professor and coordinator of secondary education at the University of Mississippi where she teaches courses in children's and adolescent literature as well as secondary English methods. She has served on the Board of Directors for ALAN (Adolescent Literature Assembly Network of NCTE), SIGNAL (Special Interest Group Network on Adolescent Literature), and has been an active member of NCTE, IRA, and their state affiliates.

This volume from the Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature series is a lively and informative introduction to Hesse and her work. The author does a good job of discussing Hesse as both a person and a writer. Using stories from Hesse's life and quotations from many sources, Oliphant-Ingham presents the portrait of a disciplined professional writer who cares deeply about the impact of her work on her readers. She also does a nice job of discussing Hesse's entire creative process from discovering an idea, to crafting the story, and to the intense work of researching and revising. A well-documented volume with a useful chronology, it is a very readable book of biography and criticism that could be used by teachers and librarians as well as middle school and high school students looking for material about Hesse, her works, and her life as a writer. (VOYA)

Oliphant-Ingham (secondary education, U. of Mississippi) offers a biocritical review of contemporary American author Karen Hesse, who won the Newberry Medal in 1998 and a “Genius” fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation―one of only two such fellowships that has been given to writers for children or adolescents. Coverage includes a concise biographical overview of Hesse's life, how she evolved into a writer of works for children and young adults, descriptions and analyses of her books, and themes in her writing. For teachers, librarians, and teen readers. (Reference and Research Book News)