Marilyn Singer



Marilyn Singer (born October 3, 1948) is an award-winning author of children's books in a wide variety of genres, including fiction and non-fiction picture books, juvenile novels and mysteries, young adult fantasies, and children's poetry. 

Life
Singer was born in the Bronx, New York City on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in North Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, the University of Reading, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens College and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, Marilyn began to write – initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Marilyn penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, Marilyn wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P. Dutton.

Since then, Marilyn has published over 70 books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. 

Marilyn Singer lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, and Washington, Connecticut.

Awards and nominations

 * Top 10 Children's Books 2007 - Time Magazine, City Lullaby
 * A Scholastic Book Club selection (paperback), 1991
 * An NCTE Notable Book, 1989
 * Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1989, The New York Times
 * Best Children's Books of 1989, Time Magazine
 * Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" Book, 2002
 * A Children's Literature Choice Book, 2002
 * An NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000
 * Booklist's Top 10 Science Books for Children, 2000
 * Children's Choice Award (IRA/CBC)
 * Scholastic Book Club selection (paperback), 1993
 * Children's Choice Award (IRA/CBC)
 * An NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book, 2007
 * National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students, 2002
 * Skipping Stones Honor Award Book for 2002
 * Society of School Librarians International Best Book for Science for 2001
 * Society of School Librarians International Best Books, 1998-9
 * New York Public Library, Best Books for the Teen Age, 2006
 * Nominated:ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2004
 * Nomineee: Edgar Award, 1998
 * New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age, 2005
 * New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age, 2001
 * Runner-up, Publishers Weekly Best Religious Books of 2000
 * Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Link, Book of the Week, Dec 11, 2000
 * Tayshas List, 2001-2
 * Society of School Librarians International Best Books, 1997-8
 * An American Library Association Best Book, 1983
 * Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983

Poetry

 * Monday on the Mississippi (Holt, 2005)
 * Central Heating: Poems about Fire and Warmth (Knopf, 2005)
 * Creature Carnival (Hyperion 2004)
 * How to Cross a Pond: Poems About Water (Knopf, 2003)
 * Fireflies at Midnight (Atheneum, 2003)
 * The Company of Crows (Clarion, 2002)
 * Footprints on the Roof: Poems About the Earth (Knopf, 2002)
 * Monster Museum (Hyperion, 2001)
 * All We Needed to Say (Atheneum, 1996)
 * The Morgans Dream (Holt, 1995)
 * Please Don't Squeeze Your Boa, Noah! (Holt, 1995)
 * Family Reunion (Macmillan, 1994)
 * Sky Words (Macmillan, 1994)
 * It's Hard to Read a Map with a Beagle on your Lap (Holt, 1993)
 * In My Tent (Macmillan, 1992)
 * Turtle in July (Macmillan, 1989) Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. A Scholastic Book Club selection (paperback), 1991; An NCTE Notable Book, 1989; Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1989, The New York Times; Best Children's Books of 1989, Time Magazine; A Reading Rainbow review book, 1994

Picture Books

 * City Lullaby (Clarion) Top 10 Children's Books of 2007, Time Magazine
 * Let's Build a Clubhouse (Clarion, 2006) Selected as one of the Bank Street College Best Children's Books, 2007
 * Block Party Today! (Knopf, 2004)
 * Boo Hoo Boo-Hoo (HarperCollins, 2002)
 * Quiet Night (Clarion, 2002)
 * Didi and Daddy on the Promenade (Clarion, 2001) Illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay. Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" Book, 2002; A Children's Literature Choice Book, 2002
 * Fred's Bed (HarperCollins, 2001)
 * On the Same Day in March (HarperCollins, 2000) A companion to Nine O'Clock Lullaby (HarperCollins, 1991). An NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Booklist's Top 10 Science Books for Children, 2000
 * Only Me (HarperCollins, 2000)
 * Solomon Sneezes (HarperCollins, 1999)
 * Good Day, Good Night (Marshall Cavendish, 1998)
 * Chester, the Out-of-Work Dog (Holt, 1992)
 * Nine O'Clock Lullaby (HarperCollins, 1991 A lyrical trip through the world's time zones, starting and ending in Brooklyn, NY. Children's Choice Award (IRA/CBC); A Scholastic Book Club selection (paperback), 1993
 * Minnie's Yom Kippur Birthday (HarperCollins, 1989)
 * Archer Armadillo's Secret Room (Macmillan, 1985)
 * Will You Take Me to Town on Strawberry Day? (HarperCollins, 1981)
 * The Pickle Plan (E. P. Dutton, 1978)
 * The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't (E. P. Dutton, 1976) Children's Choice Award (IRA/CBC)

Non-Fiction

 * Eggs (Holiday House, 2008)
 * Venom (Darby Creek, 2007)
 * Cats to the Rescue (Holt, 2006)
 * What Stinks? (Darby Creek, 2006) An NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book, 2007
 * Tough Beginnings: How Baby Animals Survive (Holt, 2001) National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students, 2002; Skipping Stones Honor Award Book for 2002; Society of School Librarians International Best Book for Science for 2001
 * A Pair of Wings (Holiday House, 2001)
 * A Dog's Gotta Do What a Dog's Gotta Do: Dogs At Work (Holt, 2000)
 * Prairie Dogs Kiss and Lobsters Wave: How Animals Say Hello (Holt, 1998)
 * Bottoms Up! (Holt, 1997) Society of School Librarians International Best Books, 1998-9
 * A Wasp is Not a Bee (Holt, 1995)
 * Exotic Birds (Doubleday, 1991)
 * The Fanatic's Ecstatic, Aromatic Guide to Onions, Garlic, Shallots and Leeks (Prentice Hall, 1981)

Children's Novels

 * The Circus Lunicus (Holt, 2000)
 * Josie to the Rescue (Scholastic, 1999)
 * Big Wheel (Hyperion, 1993)
 * California Demon (Hyperion, 1992)
 * Charmed (Atheneum, 1990)
 * Twenty Ways to Lose Your Best Friend (HarperCollins, 1990)
 * Mitzi Meyer, Fearless Warrior Queen (Scholastic, 1987)
 * Ghost Host (HarperCollins, 1987)
 * The Lightey Club (Four Winds Press, 1987)
 * Tarantulas on the Brain (HarperCollins, 1982)
 * Lizzie Silver of Sherwood Forest (HarperCollins, 1986)
 * It Can't Hurt Forever (HarperCollins, 1978)

Mysteries For Children

 * Sam and Dave Mysteries (HarperCollins):
 * Leroy is Missing (1984)
 * The Case of the Sabotaged School Play (1984)
 * A Clue in Code (1985)
 * The Case of the Cackling Car (1985)
 * The Case of the Fixed Election (1989)
 * The Hoax on You (1989)


 * Samantha Spayed Mysteries:
 * The Fido Frame-Up (Warne Publishing, 1983)
 * A Nose for Trouble (Holt, 1985)
 * Where There's a Will, There's a Wag (Holt, 1986)

Fiction for Young Adults

 * Make Me Over (E. P. Dutton, 2005) Edited by Marilyn Singer, includes stories by Joyce Sweeney, Rene Saldana, Jr., Peni Griffin, Joseph Bruchac, Terry Trueman, Jess Mowry, Norma Howe, Marina Budhos, Evelyn Coleman, and Margaret Peterson Haddix. New York Public Library's Best Books for the Teen Age, 2006
 * Face Relations: Eleven Stories About Seeing Beyond Color (Simon & Schuster, 2004) Nominated for an ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004; New York Public Library's Best Books for the Teen Age, 2005
 * "Shattered" in Shattered (Knopf, 2002)
 * I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes With Religion (HarperCollins, 2000) An anthology of short stories for teens about religion, edited by Marilyn and including her contribution "Fabulous Shoes," as well as stories by Nancy Springer, Gregory Maguire, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Jacqueline Woodson, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Kyoko Mori, Jennifer Armstrong, Joyce Carol Thomas, M. E. Kerr, Jess Mowry, and Naomi Shihab Nye. New York Public Library's Best Books for the Teen Age, 2001; Runner-up, Publishers Weekly Best Religious Books of 2000; Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Link, Book of the Week, Dec 11, 2000; Tayshas List, 2001-2
 * Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls (Scholastic, 1998)
 * Deal with a Ghost (Holt, 1997; Avon Tempest, 1999) Society of School Librarians International Best Books, 1997-8; Tayshas List, 1998-9; Nominee for an Edgar Award
 * Storm Rising (Scholastic, 1989)
 * Several Kinds of Silence (HarperCollins, 1988)
 * Horsemaster (Atheneum Books, 1985)
 * The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth (HarperCollins, 1983) An American Library Association Best Book, 1983
 * The First Few Friends(HarperCollins, 1981)
 * No Applause, Please (E. P. Dutton, 1977)

Fairy Tales

 * In the Palace of the Ocean King (Atheneum, 1995)
 * The Maiden on the Moor (Morrow, 1995)
 * The Painted Fan (Morrow, 1994)
 * The Golden Heart of Winter (Morrow, 1991)

Forthcoming

 * Cat-Chasing Day (Dutton) A poetry collection on holidays for dogs
 * The Boy Who Cried Alien (Hyperion) A "silent movie" in poems about Larry the Liar, a spaceship, and a town

Quotes, Interviews, Reviews & Media

 * Who Wrote That? Featuring Marilyn Singer


 * WritingWorld.com (interview)


 * "I don't know if I have a single poem that defines me. A lot of people think of me as a "nature poet" because I love writing about the natural world. But I also like to create characters and use them as narrators, and I'm fond of really silly verse."


 * Singer actually sits and writes with pen in hand for three to four hours a day. "But I think writing for twenty-four, it seems. I like to write in cafes, restaurants, subways—it's not fixed."


 * Interview: TeensReadToo.com


 * PEN American Center participating author


 * Teaching Pre-K-8


 * Commitment


 * New York Times review of City Lullaby, November 2007
 * Parents Choice review of City Lullaby