SUSAN HILL LONG
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Susan Hill Long is an author of books for young readers. Her books include THE CARE AND KEEPING OF FREDDY; JOSIE BLOOM AND THE EMERGENCY OF LIFE; THE MAGIC MIRROR: CONCERNING A LONELY PRINCESS, A FOUNDLING GIRL, A SCHEMING KING, AND A PICKPOCKET SQUIRREL; and WHISTLE IN THE DARK. Special recognition for her work includes a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year; Bank Street Best Books; Oregon Book Award–the Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award for Children’s Literature; and the Katherine Paterson Prize. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two daughters and their little dog Pippin.
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​​And here’s a little more:

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I was born back in the ‘60s, the youngest of four kids. The older ones were born all in a row, but there was a space of about four years between 3 and 4 (me). I was always rushing to catch up, but figured I’d be able. We lived in a big house in Maine, with an even bigger barn where I kept my sheep. My first sheep was what’s called a “bottle-lamb,” because he was runty (like Wilbur!) and had to be fed with a bottle. Kip often followed me (like Mary had a little-!) around in the field beside our house, boinging and sproinging.

Later, we moved from that house to an apartment over the 5- and dime, and that was fun, too, in different ways.  I had a special box—black, with tiny hinges, and with indentations inside for each of many colored pens, and every evening I would choose a color and rate my day from 1 – 10, both color and number depending on a close examination: I had to do my homework, eat well, exercise, practice my flute, and do something nice for someone else. I don’t rate my days anymore. In some ways, I was smarter at 12 than I have been since.

When I grew up, I helped out in a needlework shop, waited tables, sold books and toys at StoryLand in Glen, NH, filed slides in an art library, worked at a museum, edited books, prepared test questions for a testing service, did fundraising consulting for nonprofit organizations, and taught at a university. And I wrote! At first I wasn’t very good, but with practice I improved, and I hope I will always continue to improve.

I write because it's fun. I'm happiest when I'm writing; it's when I feel most like myself. Writing is one way to examine and appreciate the world and a person's place in it. I still go through a lot of colored pens.
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  • Home
  • Books
    • The Care and Keeping of Freddy
    • Whistle In The Dark
    • The Magic Mirror
    • Josie Bloom
  • About
  • Contact
  • School Visits