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Jennifer L. Holm (born June 16, 1968)[a] is an American children's writer, and recipient of three Newbery Honors and the Eisner Award.[3][4]

Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
Jennifer L. Holm
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Holm in 2017
Born (1968-06-16) June 16, 1968 (age 56)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Writer
  • illustrator
Alma materDickinson College
Period1999–present
Notable works
  • Babymouse
  • Squish
  • The Stink Files
  • Our Only May Amelia
  • Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf
  • Turtle in Paradise
  • The Fourteenth Goldfish
Children2
Website
jenniferholm.com Edit this at Wikidata
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Biography

Holm was born in 1968 in San Diego, California.[a][5] She spent her early life living on Whidbey Island on the Puget Sound in Washington state,[6] before her family relocated to Audubon, Pennsylvania, with her four brothers. She attended Methacton High School for four years. After graduating from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, she worked in television and later began to write.[citation needed] Our Only May Amelia, the story of a 12-year-old girl living in late-19th century in coastal southwestern Washington state, inspired by a diary written by her great aunt, became her first published novel and was a 2000 Newbery Honor Book. Holm also has written a series featuring Jane Peck, a young woman living in the 1850s (Boston Jane: An Adventure, Boston Jane: Wilderness Days and Boston Jane: The Claim); The Creek, a horror thriller; Babymouse and Squish, series of graphic novels for children illustrated by her brother Matthew; and The Stink Files, a series co-written with her husband Jonathan Hamel featuring James Edward Bristlefur, a cat raised by a British secret agent who is adopted by an American family and renamed Mr. Stink after his owner is murdered. Penny from Heaven, a story set in the 1950s featuring an 11-year-old Italian-American girl, was a 2007 Newbery Honor recipient. Turtle in Paradise, which is set in the Great Depression in Key West, Florida, was a 2011 Newbery Honor recipient. Babymouse for President won the 2013 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7).

Our Only May Amelia has been adapted for the stage by John Olive. The River Theater in Astoria, Oregon, performed it for its 2006 summer run, in conjunction with FinnFest USA '06. The events of the play (and book) were set just north of Astoria in Naselle, Washington.

Personal life

As of 2013, Holm lives in Foster City, California, with her husband and two children.[5]

Works

Standalone novels

The Fourteenth Goldfish series

  • The Fourteenth Goldfish (2014)
  • The Third Mushroom (2018)

Sunny series

Graphic novels, illustrated by Matthew Holm and colored by Lark Pien

  • Sunny Side Up (2015)
  • Swing it, Sunny (2017)
  • Sunny Rolls the Dice (2019)
  • Sunny Makes a Splash (2021)
  • Sunny Makes Her Case (2024)

May Amelia series

  • Our Only May Amelia (1999) - Newbery Honor
  • The Trouble with May Amelia (2011), illustrated by Adam Gustavson

Our Only May Amelia can be found in the Newbery Great Girls Boxed Set (1999) along with three other Newbery Winners.

Boston Jane novel series

  1. Boston Jane: An Adventure (2001)
  2. Wilderness Days (2002)
  3. The Claim (2004)

Key West series

  • Turtle in Paradise (2010) - Newbery Honor
  • Full of Beans (2016) - a prequel from the perspective of Turtle's cousin, Beans.

Ginny Davis series

Illustrated by Elicit Castaldi

  1. Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told Through Stuff (2007)
  2. Eighth Grade is Making Me Sick: Ginny Davis's Year In Stuff (2012)

The Stink Files series

In collaboration with Jonathan Hamel, illustrated by Brad Weinman

Babymouse series

Graphic novels, in collaboration with Matthew Holm

  1. Queen of the World! (2005)
  2. Our Hero (2005)
  3. Beach Babe (2006)
  4. Rock Star (2006)
  5. Heartbreaker (2006)
  6. Camp Babymouse (2007)
  7. Skater Girl (2007)
  8. Puppy Love (2007)
  9. Monster Mash (2008)
  10. Babymouse: The Musical (2009)
  11. Dragonslayer (2009)
  12. Babymouse Burns Rubber (2010)
  13. Cupcake Tycoon (2010)
  14. Mad Scientist (2011)
  15. A Very Babymouse Christmas (2011)
  16. Babymouse for President (2012)
  17. Extreme Babymouse (2013)
  18. Happy Birthday, Babymouse (2014)
  19. Bad Babysitter (2015)
  20. Babymouse Goes for the Gold (2016)

Compilations:

  • Babymouse Collection Books 1-13

Babymouse Tales From the Locker series

Illustrated by Matthew Holm

  1. Lights, Camera, Middle School! (July 4, 2017), ISBN 978-0399554384
  2. Miss Communication (July 24, 2018), ISBN 978-0399554414
  3. School-Tripped (July 29, 2019), ISBN 978-0399554452

Little Babymouse

Picture book, illustrated by Matthew Holm

Squish series

Graphic novels, in collaboration with Matthew Holm

  1. Squish: Super Ameoba (2011)
  2. Squish: Brave New Pond (2011)
  3. Squish: The Power Of The Parasite (2012)
  4. Squish: Captain Disaster (2012)
  5. Squish: Game On! (2013)
  6. Squish: Fear the Amoeba (2014)
  7. Squish: Deadly Disease of Doom (2015)
  8. Squish: Pod vs. Pod (2016)

My First Comics

Illustrated by Matthew Holm

  • I'm Grumpy (2016)
  • I'm Sunny (2016)
  • I'm Silly (2017)
  • I'm Scared (2017)
  • I'm Cheese

Comic book anthologies

Anthology contributions

  • Shelf Life: Stories by the Book (2003), edited by Gary Paulson
    • Contains "Follow the Water" by Jennifer L. Holm
  • Friends: Stories about New Friends, Old Friends, and Unexpectedly True Friends (2005)
    • Contains "My Best Friend" by Jennifer L. Holm

Book introductions

  • Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery (originally published 1909) - Introduction
  • Too Much Information by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes (2012) - Foreword

Selected awards and honors

Notes

  1. In the acknowledgements of Holm's book Penny from Heaven, she gives thanks to her mother, Penny Scaccia.[1] The California Birth Index lists a Jennifer L. Holm born in San Diego on June 16, 1968 to a Mrs. Scaccia, which corroborates her birthdate.[2]

References

External links

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