Kirby Larson

Kirby Lane Larson (born August 17, 1954, in Seattle)^[1] is an American writer of children's books including Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award-winner The Magic Kerchief, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger.^[2] Her book, Hattie Big Sky, was a finalist for the 2007 Scandiuzzi Book Award of the Washington State Book Awards, and won a 2007 Newbery Honor. Kirby is retired from the faculty at the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program. Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle both have won a Show-Me Award.^[3]

Kirby Larson
Born	(1954-08-17) August 17, 1954 (age 70) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Education	Western Washington University (BA) University of Washington (MA)
Occupation	Writer of children's books
Notable work	Hattie Big Sky
Spouse	Neil Edwin Larson ​ (m. 1975)​
Children	2

Biography

Larson was born August 17, 1954, in Seattle to David Neil and Donna Marie Miltenberger.^[1]

On September 6, 1975, Larson married Neil Edwin Larson, with whom she has two children, Tyler Kenton and Quinn Lois.^[1]

Larson earned a Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University in 1976 and a Master of Arts from the University of Washington in 1980.^[1]

Awards and honors

Awards for Larson's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2007	Hattie Big Sky	ALA Best Books for Young Adults	Selection	[4]
2007	Hattie Big Sky	Newbery Medal	Honor	[5][6]
2008	Two Bobbies	ASPCA Henry Bergh Non-Fiction Companion Animal Children's Book Award		[7]
2009	Two Bobbies	Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Children's Book Award		[8]
2010	Nubs	Christopher Award	Winner	[9]
2011	Two Bobbies	South Carolina Association of School Librarians Picture Book Award	Winner	[10]
2015	Dash	National Parenting Publications Awards	Gold	[11]
2015	Dash	Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction	Winner	[12]
2016	Duke	South Carolina Association of School Librarians Children's Book Award	Winner	[10]
2017	Audacity Jones to the Rescue	Washington State Book Award Books for Middle Grade Readers	Finalist	[13]
	Magic Kerchief	Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award

Bibliography

• Second-Grade Pig Pals (1994)
• Cody and Quinn, Sitting in a Tree (1996)
• The Magic Kerchief (2000)
• Hattie Big Sky (2006)
• Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival (2008)
• Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle (2009)
• The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle Washington, 1941 (2010)
• The Friendship Doll (2011)
• Bitty Baby at the Ballet (2013)
• Bitty Baby and Me (2013)
• Bitty Baby the Brave (2013)
• Hattie Ever After (2013)
• Princess Bitty Baby (2013)
• Bitty Baby Loves the Snow (2013)
• Duke (2013)
• Bitty Baby Has a Tea Party (2014)
• Bitty Baby Makes a Splash (2014)
• Dash (2014)
• Liberty (2016)
• Audacity Jones to the Rescue (2016)
• Audacity Jones Steals the Show (2017)
• Code Word Courage (2018)

References

1. "Larson, Kirby 1954–". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
2. Washington Library Media Association (2002). Medium. Vol. 27–29. Washington Library Media Association. p. 16.
3. "Show Me Award Winners - Missouri Association of School Librarians". masl.site-ym.com. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
4. "2007 Best Books for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
5. "Hattie Big Sky | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
6. Clark, Larra; Morales, Macey (2007-01-02). "Patron, Wiesner win Newbery, Caldecott medals". American Library Association. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
7. "ALA Events – ASPCA Henry Bergh Award Presentation — Practically Paradise". blogs.slj.com. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
8. "2009 SIBA Book Award Winners Announced". www.sibaweb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
9. "Past Winners". thechristophers. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
10. "SCBA Winner History - All Levels". Google Docs. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
11. "Dash/Kirby Larson by Scholastic Corporation/Scholastic Press". NAPPA Awards. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
12. O'Dell, Scott. "Scott O'Dell". www.scottodell.com. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
13. "2017 Finalists and Winners!". 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2019-10-07.

External links

• Official website
• Kirby's Lane official blog
• Hattie Big Sky
• 2008 Audio Interview of Kirby Larson at Childrensbookradio
• MotherDaughterBookClub.com 2010 interview with Kirby Larson at MotherDaughterBookClub
• Kirby Larson at Library of Congress, with 19 library catalog records

• Children's literature portal