Marion Dane Bauer (born November 20, 1938) is an American children's author. Bauer was born on November 20, 1938, and brought up in Oglesby, a small prairie town in

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

. She was educated at LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College, the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

and the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, where she graduated in 1962. She married Ronald Bauer, raising their two children as well as being a foster parent for other children. That marriage ended in divorce after 28 years. She has taught English at a

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

high school and classes in creative writing in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Marion was one of the founders of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

. She lives and works in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Marion wanted to be a writer from an early age. As a child, she says, "I constantly made

tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

up in my head, for my dolls, for my friends. I acted them out using my cigar box filled with marbles as characters." An aunt gave her vital encouragement during her teenage years, by taking her work seriously and urging her to continue writing. Bauer recalls that "the example of someone who loved writing and found doing it both good and important, probably influenced me more deeply than any other."Day, Frances Ann (2000). Lesbian and gay voices: An annotated bibliography and guide to literature for children and young adults. Greenwood Press, quoting from "Authors and Artists". ''Rain of Fire'' (1983) won the

Jane Addams Children's Book Award The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were previously given joint ...

in 1984. Bauer received the

Kerlan Award The Kerlan Award is a literary award given by the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection, a special library focusing on children's literature. Many awards focus on the finished product, but the Kerlan Award is given based on the creative proc ...

in 1986. ''

On My Honor ''On My Honor'' is a novel by Marion Dane Bauer, first published in 1986. The book is frequently read in the United States as part of the elementary school curriculum. Plot Tony first wanted to go to the Starved Rock Cliff to climb but Joel dis ...

'' (1986) won a

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

Honor in 1987, and won the

William Allen White Children's Book Award The William Allen White Children's Book Award is a set of two annual awards for books selected by vote of Kansas schoolchildren from lists prepared by committee. As a single award it was established in 1952 by Ruth Garver Gagliardo, a children's ...

in 1989. ''Am I Blue'', an anthology of children's fiction about gay and lesbian issues, won a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

in 1994, and the

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

for literature in 1995. ''The Longest Night'' won a

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing a ...

for picture-book text in 2009.

Books

* ''Shelter from the Wind'', 1976 * ''Foster Child'', 1977 * Tangled Butterfly, 1980 * ''Rain of Fire'', 1983 * Like Mother, Like Daughter, 1985 * ''

'' (Newbery Medal Winner), 1986 * Touch the Moon, 1987 * A Dream of Queens and Castles, 1990 * Face to Face, 1991 * ''What's Your Story?: a young person's guide to writing fiction'', 1992 * ''Ghost Eye'', 1992 * ''A Taste of Smoke'', 1993 * (ed.) ''Am I Blue?: coming out from the silence'', 1994 * ''A Question of Trust'', 1994 * ''A Writer's Story: from life to fiction'', 1995 * When I Go Camping with Grandma, 1995 * ''If You Were Born a Kitten'', 1997 * Alison's Wings, 1997 * Alison's Puppy, 1997 * Alison's Fierce and Ugly Halloween, 1997 * Turtle Dream's, 1997 * Christmas in the Forest, 1998 * Bear's Hiccups, 1998 * ''An Early Winter'', 1999 * Sleep, Little One, Sleep, 1999 * The Double Digit Club, 2000 * Grandmother's Song, 2000 * Jason's Bears, 2000 * ''My Mother is Mine'', 2001 * If you Had a Nose Like an Elephant's Trunk, 2001 * ''

Runt In a group of animals (usually a litter of animals born in multiple births), a runt is a member which is significantly smaller or weaker than the others. Owing to its small size, a runt in a litter faces obvious disadvantage, including difficulti ...

'', 2002 * The Kissing Monster, 2002 * Uh-Oh!, 2002 * Frog's Best Friend, 2002 * Love Song for a Baby, 2002 * ''Land of the Buffalo Bones : the diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English girl in Minnesota'', 2003. In the

Dear America ''Dear America'' is a series of historical fiction novels for children published by Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic starting in 1996. By 1998, the series had 12 titles with 3.5 million copies in print. The series was canceled in 2004 with its ...

series. * ''Snow'', 2003 * Wind, 2003 * ''Why Do Kittens Purr?'', 2003 * Toes, Ears & Nose!, 2003 * ''The Double-Digit Club'', 2004 * ''The Very Best Daddy of All'', 2004 * ''A Mama for Owen'', 2004 * ''Clouds'', 2004 * Rain, 2004 * ''A Bear Named Trouble'', 2005 * ''The Blue Ghost'', 2005 * Easter is Coming, 2005 * A Recipe for Valentine's Day, 2005 * Waiting for Christmas, 2005 * If Frogs Made Weather, 2005 * Niagara Falls, 2006 * The Rocky Mountains, 2006 * The Grand Canyon, 2006 * Christmas Lights, 2006 * I'm Not Afraid of Halloween!, 2006 * The Statue of Liberty, 2007 * Mount Rushmore, 2007 * The Mighty Mississippi, 2007 * The Secret of the Painted House, 2007 * Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins, 2007 * Baby Bear Discovers the World, 2007 * A Mama for Owen, 2007 * The Red Ghost, 2008 * The Green Ghost, 2008 * ''Some Babies Are Wild'', 2008 * Yellowstone, 2008 * Volcano!, 2008 * Flood!, 2008 * Earthquake!, 2009 * ''The Very Little Princess'', 2009 * ''The Christmas Baby'', 2009 * Martin Luther King, Jr. - My First Biography, 2009 * The Longest Night, 2009 * One Brown Bunny, 2009 * How Do I Love You?, 2009 * ''Cutest Critter'', 2010 * Christopher Columbus - My First Biography, 2010 * Harriet Tubman - My First Biography, 2010 * Thank You for Me!, 2010 * ''The Longest Night'', 2011 * ''In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb'', 2011 * Benjamin Franklin - My First Biography, 2011 * The Golden Ghost, 2011 * The Very Little Princess - Rose's Story, 2011 * The Very Little Princess - Zoey's Story, 2011 * ''Dinosaur Thunder'', 2012 * ''Halloween Forest'', 2012 * ''Little Dog, Lost'', 2012 * Celebrating Arizona, 2013 * Celebrating Texas, 2013 * Celebrating New York, 2013 * Celebrating Florida, 2013 * Celebrating California, 2013 * Celebrating Virginia and Washington, D.C., 2013 * Celebrating North Carolina, 2014 * Celebrating Washington State, 2014 * Celebrating Massachusetts, 2014 * Celebrating Illinois, 2014 * ''Crinkle, Crackle, Crack, It's Spring'', 2015 * ''Little Cat's Luck'', 2016 * Sun, 2016 * Rainbow, 2016 * ''Winter Dance'', 2017 * ''Jump Little Wood Ducks'', 2017 * ''The Stuff of Stars'', 2018 * The Appalachian Trail, 2020 * Sunshine, 2021 * Moon - Our Universe Series, 2021 * Mars - Our Universe Series, 2021 * Earth - Our Universe Series, 2021

References

Additional Sources

External links

Marion Dane Bauer's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Marion Dane 1938 births Living people American children's writers Writers from Illinois People from Oglesby, Illinois American lesbian writers Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature winners Stonewall Book Award winners American women children's writers University of Missouri alumni University of Oklahoma alumni 21st-century American women writers