Charlotte Agell

Charlotte Agell (born September 7, 1959) is a Swedish-born American author for young adults and children who lives in Maine. Her second novel, Shift, was featured on the front cover of the Brunswick Times Record in October 2008. In addition to writing novels, Agell writes and illustrates picture books for young children. She won a Maine Literary Award in 2020 and was listed on the Rainbow Book List in 2011.

Early life and education Agell was born in Norsjö, Sweden, on September 7, 1959 and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in the 1990s. She is the daughter of businessman Christer L. Agell and artist Margareta "Meta" McDonald. When asked about her childhood, Agell said, "somebody always handed me art supplies." Recommended for ages 3–7.

To the Island (1999) and Up the Mountain (2000) To the Island and Up the Mountain feature four friends: Dragon, Cat, Chicken and Rabbit. They spend time together exploring their surroundings. In To the Island, recommended for ages 3–5, the four friends venture to a nearby island for a picnic. The story is described by Donna Gold of the Portland Press Herald as "neither silly nor solemn," with a text suitable for beginning readers and illustrations that, through use of vibrant colors, depict a happy time spent with friends.

In Up the Mountain, the four set off on a rainy day to climb a mountain. The adventure is, reportedly, "too mild for children at the upper end of the target audience" (the four just basically walk to the top of the mountain and back), but reviewers agree the simple rhymes and the illustrations, conveyed in ink, watercolor and pastels, are suitable for young listeners. Recommended ages 2–5.

Welcome Home or Someplace Like It (2003) Welcome Home or Someplace Like It, Agell's debut novel, is a semi-autobiographical story told through the experiences of 13-year-old Aggie Wing. Aggie and her brother, Thorne, are faced with learning to cope with life in Ludwig, Maine after being dropped off there by their mother, a romance writer, who leaves to do research in Niagara Falls. The two children have moved a lot and must now learn to live with their 91-year-old grandfather. Themes in the book include abandonment, bravery, community, family, and discoveries of home. Elsa Geskus, in Childhood Education, describes the book as a coming of age story and Barbara Auerbach reports in the School Library Journal, the book has "strong and winning characters; excellent pacing; and a lazy, nostalgic setting." Welcome Home or Someplace Like It has been compared with Polly Horvath's The Canning Season. The book was listed in "What to Read" by the New York Times. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Shift (2008) Shift, a dystopian book, takes on an admittedly darker tone than Agell's previous books. It was written in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001. Agell felt a sense of outrage about the U.S. government's response to those events. "Was this really my country bombing its way to peace? Wiretapping its citizens to protect their freedoms?" she wrote in an interview for Macmillan Publishers, "As someone who chose American citizenship on purpose, as an adult, I felt such a sense of betrayal. My country had been hijacked by a fear-mongering regime: ours. The whole thing had a surreal quality about it."

Agell views Shift as a cautionary tale. Reviewers find the book thought-provoking and readable for its intended young adult audience, though some find the plot confusing and take issue with the seemingly anti-Christian themes. Agell disagrees with this sentiment, saying through her character Lenore, "God wants us to think." Agell finds it strange that, in the book and in real life, this idea stirs up controversy. Agell wants her readers to learn to ask "what if" and develop the skills to think for themselves, regardless of their religious affiliations.

The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister (2010) The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister focuses on the daily life of a fourth grade girl, India McAllister, growing up in a small town in Maine. Themes of the book include adoption, friendships, breast cancer, homosexuality, and divorce. They are interwoven throughout the book as ordinary occurrences in the young girl's life. The text is accompanied by India's (Agell's) line drawings. One reviewer criticized the book as too complicated, leaving unresolved most of the issues India encounters in the book. Recommended for children ages 8–11, The Accidental Adventure of India McAllister was named among the top ten GLBTQ books for young readers by the American Library Association's 2011 Rainbow Project.

Publications

Young adult novels

Picture books

Winner of the 2020 Maine Literary Award

Selected talks and demonstrations Tell Me a Story: About Maine, Atrium Art Gallery, University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn Campus, Lewiston, ME (2013) The Great Bangor Draw-Off, Bangor Book Festival, Bangor Public Library Lecture Hall, Bangor, ME (2011) Maine Festival of the Book, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Holiday Book Sale, Rines Auditorium, Portland Public Library, Portland, ME (2010) Children's Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, ME (2009) (2010) (2012) Fall Writing Retreat (Instructor), Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME (2005) (2006) Books & Blooms, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, ME (2005) Raising Readers Book Festival, a celebration of winter and reading, Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, ME (2005) Blueberries and Moose: A Festival of Maine Children's Literature, Portland Public Market, Portland, ME (2004) Writer-Illustrator Talk, hosted by Yarmouth Arts, Yarmouth, ME (2004) Family Arts Festival, Brunswick, ME (2001) Barbara Cooney Festival of Children's Book Illustration, Round Top Center for the Arts, Skidompha Public Library, Damariscotta, ME (1999) Full Circle Summer Fair, Union, ME (1997) South Freeport Congregational Church Summer Festival, Freeport, ME (1996)

Educator Agell taught multilingual and multicultural education at Portland High School, Portland, Maine and was a teacher in the gifted and talented language arts program at Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth, Maine.

Personal life Agell lived in several Maine towns before settling in Brunswick with her husband Peter J. Simmons, an arts administrator and master gardener. She and Simmons have two children.