Katherine Ayres is an American writer of children's literature and resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a founding member of the Pittsburgh Public Theater's Playwrights’ Lab.[1][2] In 2008, she described herself as "a poster child for early literacy."[3]
Katherine Ayres | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Educator and author of children's literature |
Early life
editBorn in 1947 in Columbus, Ohio, she was raised in Ohio, West Virginia, and New York. In 1965 she graduated from West Islip High School in West Islip, New York. She completed her BA at The College of Wooster in 1969 and her MA at Tufts University in 1974.
Career
editAyres was employed as an educator and elementary school principal during the early phase of her professional life. She began writing for children in the 1990s. In 2008, Ayres traveled throughout Pennsylvania, reading her book, Up, Down, and Around, to preschool-aged children participating in the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child literacy program.[4] Roughly ninety thousand copies of her book were distributed to childcare and Head Start centers, family literacy programs and public libraries across Pennsylvania as part of the program, which was estimated to reach as may as five hundred thousand children that year.[5][6] That same year, her poem, Roadside Shrine, was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[7]
Ayres coordinates the Chatham University Master of Fine Arts Program in Children’s and Adolescent Writing in Pittsburgh.[8]
Books
edit- Family Tree, fiction (New York: Delacorte Press, 1996).
- North by Night: A Story of the Underground Railroad, fiction (New York: Delacorte Press, 1998).
- Voices at Whisper Bend, fiction (Middleton, Wisconsin: Pleasant Company, 1999).
- Silver Dollar Girl, fiction (New York: Delacorte Press, 2000).[9]
- Under Copp's Hill, fiction (Middleton, Wisconsin: Pleasant Company, 2000).
- Stealing South: A Story of the Underground Railroad, fiction (New York: Delacorte Press, 2001).
- A Long Way, fiction (Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2003).
- Macaroni Boy, fiction (New York: Delacorte Press, 2003).
- Matthew's Truck, fiction (Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2005).
- Up, Down, and Around, fiction (Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2007).
References
edit- ^ "Here's One Book for picky eaters: Libraries promote literacy, along with legumes." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Sunday News, March 30, 2008, p. P4 (subscription required).
- ^ "Katherine Ayres" (profile). New York, New York: Scholastic, retrieved online February 23, 2019.
- ^ Price, Michael A. "Author kicks off 'One Book' events at Everhart." Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: The Times Leader, April 24, 2008, p. D1 (subscription required).
- ^ Hall, Sarah Hofius. "Author's Veggies Keep Students on Edge of Seats." Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Times-Tribune, May 1, 2008, p. A3 (subscription required).
- ^ Sullivan, Deborah. "Read around fun." York, Pennsylvania: The York Dispatch, April 20, 2008, p. F4 (subscription required).
- ^ Price, "Author kicks off 'One Book' events at Everhart, The Times Leader, April 24, 2008, p. D1.
- ^ "Roadside Shrine." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 27, 2008, p. B7 (subscription required).
- ^ "Children's author to visit area libraries." Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Daily Item, April 27, 2008, p. B3 (subscription required).
- ^ Atkins, Holly. "The Book Club Discussion: Silver Dollar Girl by Katherine Ayres." St. Petersburg, Florida: Tampa Bay Times, April 5, 2004, p. E8 (subscription required).
Sources
editContemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2002.
