Peg Kehret

Peg Kehret (Margaret Ann Schulze, born November 11, 1936) is an American author, primarily writing for children between the ages of 11 and 15.

Early life

Peg Kehret was born on November 11, 1936 in La Crosse WI. After a normal childhood, she contracted polio at age 12 [1] in 1949. She had each of the three types of polio: spinal, respiratory, and the least common kind, bulbar. She was paralyzed from the neck down and had a nine-month hospital stay. The experience changed Kehret's life, as she describes in her memoir Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio.[2] After this stint with polio, Kehret made a complete recovery, later graduating from Austin High School and then attending the University of Minnesota for one year.[3] In 1955, she married Carl Kehret; they moved to California and adopted two children, Bob and Anne. Before Kehret began writing children's books she wrote plays, radio commercials and magazine stories. In 1970, the Kehrets moved to Washington. Carl died in 2004. Carl and Peg had a wonderful forty-eight years of marriage. Her grandchildren- Brett, Chelsea, Eric, and Mark have since then grown up. She also has a great grandson, Seth, who also lives in Washington.

Career

Peg Kehret has worked her whole life publishing books for young children and adolescent adults. She has published forty-six works for middle school students, including four children's drama books. [4] Her first book, Spirit!, was published in 1979. In addition to this work, she has published plays, radio commercials, magazines, and two adult nonfiction books [5][6] Some of Kehret's most famous works include Stolen Children, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, and Runaway Twin.

Awards and recognition

Peg Kehret's books for young people have earned a wide readership and critical acclaim. Among her many honors are the Pen Center West Award in Children's Literature, the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and illustrators. Children's Choice Awards from 29 states, the Forest Roberts Playwriting Award, and the Henry Bergh Award from the ASPCA. Many for her books have been selected by the American Library Association for its Recommended Books for Reluctant Readers.[7] In total, Peg’s books have won more than fifty state young reader awards. Kehret and her polio memoir won the 1998 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, annually determined by a vote of Vermont schoolchildren,[5] and the 1999 Mark Twain Readers Award, a similar annual book award determined by a vote of Missouri schoolchildren in grades 4 to 6.[6] The Missouri award recognized four of her books from 1999 to 2012 (marked below by double dagger, double-dagger).[6] She currently resides near Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State.[8]

Works

  • Refinishing and Restoring Your Piano (Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1985)
  • Winning Monologs for Young Actors: 65 honest-to-life characterizations to delight young actors and audiences of all ages (Colorado Springs, CO: Meriwether Pub, 1986), LCCN 86-61109
  • Encore!: more winning monologs for young actors : 63 more honest-to-life monologs for teenage boys and girls (Meriwether, 1988) – "A collection of monologs for use in junior high and high school drama classes." LCCN 88-42541
  • Abduction! (Penguin, 2006) double-dagger
  • Acting Natural
  • Animals Welcome: A Life of Reading, Writing, and Rescue
  • The Blizzard Disaster
  • Cages
  • Deadly Stranger (Dodd, Mead, 1987)
  • Don't Tell Anyone
  • Earthquake Terror
  • Escaping the Giant Wave
  • Five Pages A Day: A Writers Journey
  • Ghost Dog Secrets
  • The Ghost's
  • Horror at the Haunted House
  • I'm Not Who You Think I Am (1999)
  • My Brother Made Me Do It
  • Night of terror
  • Nightmare Mountain
  • Runaway Twin (Dutton, 2009) double-dagger
  • Saving Lilly
  • Searching for Candlestick Park
  • The Secret Journey
  • Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays
  • Sisters, Long Ago
  • Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio (Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman, 1996) double-dagger
  • Spy Cat
  • Stolen Children (Dutton, 2008) double-dagger
  • The Stranger Next Door
  • Tell It Like It Is
  • Terror at the Zoo
  • Trapped
  • The Volcano Disaster (1998)
  • Vows of Love and Marriage
  • Wedding Vows: How to Express Your Love in Your Own Words

References

  1. ↑ Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret
  2. ↑ "Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio", Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 1996.
  3. ↑ Kehret, Peg. "BIO". Peg Kehret.
  4. ↑ Kehret, Peg. Pioneer Drama Service https://www.pioneerdrama.com/AuthorDetail.asp?ac=KEHRETPEG. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Kehret, Peg. Pioneer Drama Service https://www.pioneerdrama.com/AuthorDetail.asp?ac=KEHRETPEG. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Kehret, Peg. "BIO". Peg Kehret.
  7. ↑ "Peg Kehret Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level | Scholastic". www.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  8. ↑ "Peg Kehret | Kidsreads". www.kidsreads.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.