Ilene Cooper (born March 10, 1948) is an American author and reviewer of children's books.

Early life and education

Cooper was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where she graduated from

Sullivan High School Sullivan High School is a public high school located in Sullivan, Indiana. SHS is one of three high schools in Sullivan County (the other two being North Central High School in Farmersburg and Union High School in Dugger). Sullivan High S ...

. She later attended the

Missouri School of Journalism The Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in all areas of journalism and strategic comm ...

, where she majored in radio and television. After working at

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...

for several years, she enrolled in

Rosary College Dominican University (DU) is a private Roman Catholic university in River Forest, Illinois, affiliated with the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees, certificate programs, and a PhD in information studies. Do ...

, where she received her Master of Science in Library Science.

Career

Cooper began her career as a children's librarian at the Winnetka Public Library. She is the children's books editor at the book review magazine ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

''. She has also written numerous children's books about feminism and politics. In the mid-2000s,

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube Content creation, content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' ( ...

was working at ''Booklist'', where he was mentored by Cooper, when his book ''

Looking for Alaska ''Looking for Alaska'' is American author John Green‘s debut novel, published in March 2005 by Dutton Juvenile. Based on his time at Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel as a result of his desire to create meaningful young adult fiction ...

'' won the

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

. During this time, Green gave a draft copy of ''Looking for Alaska'' to Cooper, before the book was published; Cooper later recalled that after reading this draft, she thought that "He had a voice you could tell was quite original," and decided she would work with him. She has also described herself as Green's "fairy godmother". In 2002–2003, Cooper won a

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.Illinois Reading Council Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfor ...

Prairie State Award for Excellence in Writing for Children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ilene 1948 births Living people 21st-century American women American children's writers Writers from Chicago University of Missouri alumni Rosary College alumni American librarians American women librarians