E. L. Konigsburg

Elaine Lobl Konigsburg (February 10, 1930 – April 19, 2013) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books and young adult fiction. She is one of seven writers to win two Newbery Medals, the venerable American Library Association award for the year's "most distinguished contribution to American children's literature, and the only author to win the medal and receive an honor in the same year" She was an avid reader, although reading was only "tolerated" in her family, "not sanctioned like dusting furniture or baking cookies". and was the first person in her family to earn a degree. Konigsburg is the writer and illustrator of three 1990s picture books "featuring her own grandchildren": Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors, Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions, and Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdale's.

Themes

Many of Konigsburg's stories feature childhood and adolescent struggles that are easy for school-age readers to understand. Often her characters are striving to find the answers to big questions that will help shape their identities. Many of them are based on her own experiences as a child, the observations she made of children while a teacher, and the experiences or observations of her children. Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth (1967), illus. ELK - 1968 UK title, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, and Me From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967), illus. ELK About the B'nai Bagels (1969), illus. ELK (George) (1970), illus. ELK - 1974 UK title, Benjamin Dickenson Carr and His (George) Altogether, One at a Time (1971), short story collection Father's Arcane Daughter (1976) - later published as My Father's Daughter Throwing Shadows (1979), short story collection

Adaptations

Beside audiobook recordings, four of Konigsburg's novels have been adapted and produced as movies or plays.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: 1973 film starring Ingrid Bergman (Cinema 5), released 1974 as "The Hideaways" (Bing Crosby Productions); and a 1995 film starring Lauren Bacall released on television. Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth: 1973 television movie "Jennifer and Me" (NBC) The Second Mrs. Giaconda: 1976 production of a play (Jacksonville FL) Father's Arcane Daughter: 1990 television movie "Caroline?" (Hallmark Hall of Fame)

Awards

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth: 1968 Newbery Honor 1999 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Carnegie Mellon University it is named for the mythical bird phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, to suggest the winning book's rise from obscurity.