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| Name: | Katherine Paterson | ||
| Birth: | October 31 1932 | ||
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Katherine Paterson is an award-winning American author of books for children.
Contents |
Writing Years
Paterson began her professional career in the Presbyterian Church by teaching Sunday school curriculum for fifth and sixth grade parochial students. In 1966, she wrote the novel Who Am I?. While continuing to write, she was unable to get any of her novels published. After being persuaded, Paterson took an adult education course in creative writing during which her first novel was published. Her first children's novel, The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, was published in 1973. A Japanese fairy tale, it is based on Paterson's studies in Japan. Bridge to Terabithia, her most widely recognized book, was published in 1977. Terabithia was highly controversial due to some of the difficult themes.
Some of her other books also feature difficult themes such as the death of a loved one.
Her awards include the National Book Award (Master Puppeteer, 1976; The Great Gilly Hopkins, 1979), the Newbery Medal (Bridge to Terabithia, 1977; Jacob Have I Loved, 1981), the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (Jip, His Story, 1996), the Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1998), and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2006).
Recent Years
Katherine Paterson is currently vice-president of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries. The Patersons continue to live in Barre, Vermont, and Dr. Paterson has retired as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. The Patersons' children are adults, and they have seven grandchildren.
On April 28, 2005, Paterson dedicated a tree in memory of Lisa Hill (David's childhood friend who became the inspiration for Bridge to Terabithia) to Takoma Park Elementary School. Paterson still does school visits but chooses to stick to schools that are close to her Vermont home. She is currently promoting her work and just put out a new book entitled Bread and Roses Too. She was inspired to write this book after seeing a photograph of 35 children taken on the steps of the Old Socialist Labor Hall in Barre, Vermont captioned, “Children of Lawrence Massachusettes, Bread and Roses Strike come to Barre,” Paterson's home town.
Bridge to Terabithia has been adapted into film twice, the 1985 PBS version and the 2007 Disney/Walden Media co-production. One of the producers and screenwriters for the 2007 version is Paterson's son David L. Paterson, whose name appears on the dedication page of the novel "The Bridge to Terabithia".
Another of her novels, The Great Gilly Hopkins, was optioned by Christine Vachon's Killer Films in April 2008, and is expected to be released as a major motion picture in early 2009.
Writing style
In Paterson's novels, her youthful protagonists face crises by which they learn to triumph through self-sacrifice. Paterson, unlike many other authors of young adult novels, tackles topics such as death and jealousy. Although her characters face dire situations, Paterson writes with compassion and empathy. Amidst her writing of misery and strife, Paterson interlaces her writing with wry wit and understated humor. After facing tumultuous events, her characters prevail in triumph and redeem themselves and their ambitions. Paterson's protagonists are usually orphaned or estranged children with only a few friends who must face difficult situations largely on their own. Paterson's plots may reflect her own childhood in which she felt estranged and lonely.
