Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech is the only author to receive both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal. Sharon Creech: The Words We Choose to Say is a biocritical text focusing on the young adult novels of this author. The text provides background on Creech's family, education, and careers--all of which have impacted her role as a prize-winning author--and summarizes her talent as a storyteller and skill as an author. It then goes on to discuss her novels, which are separated into three categories. The first group category consists of novels set in the real world where the protagonists face the typical challenges of growing up (i.e. dating, rivalries, school problems, and family dilemmas), and eventually learn to cope successfully and emerge as mature young adults. The second group features heroines, who must complete a literal journey that is paralleled by an interior journey of self-discovery as they learn to accept their past and to face the future with courage. The last group tackles Creech's novels that include subtle hints of the world of fantasy, in which the protagonists cannot rely on magic to solve their problems, but instead must learn to accept responsibility for their actions. There is also a section devoted to Creech's other writings: two picture books, four books for young readers, two novels marketed for an adult audience, and her drama, The Center of the Universe: Waiting for the Girl, which was performed off-Broadway. These works possess many of the same themes that appear in Creech's young adult novels: the importance of family, becoming independent, and the power of language to heal and enlighten. A list of all Creech's awards, a complete bibliography, and an index are also included.

ISBN 0810850869   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780810850866 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 299 Publisher Scarecrow Press   Published in Lanham, MD Imprint Scarecrow Press   Series ISSN 22 Format Hardback   Series title Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements Series Publication date 24 Apr 2006   Height (mm) 225 Library of Congress 2005037615   Width (mm) 161 DEWEY 813.54   Spine width (mm) 14 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate Pages 144

1		The author : life experiences and the writer		1
2		A reflection of reality : Absolutely normal chaos and Bloomability		11
3		The journey : Walk two moons and The wanderer		31
4		A touch of fantasy : Chasing redbird and Ruby Holler		57
5		Books for all ages : children, young readers, and adults		77
6		Sharon Creech : the stories, the issues, the author		89

Tighe does an admirable and complete job of examining Creech's body of work. Anyone involved in teaching young adult literature or organizing a book club would find this book, which is part of the Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature, a most readable, useful resource. VOYA, December 2006 Tighe (English, Troy U.) explores the life and work of Sharon Creech, the only author to be awarded both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals. Tighe focuses primarily on Creech's novels for young adults but finds many of the same themes from those works--the importance of family, becoming independent and the power of language to heal and enlighten--in Creech's other writing. Reference and Research Book News, August 2006

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