Edith Hope Fine Biography

Born 1965. Hobbies and other interests: Recycling, composting, reading, politics and international relations, swimming.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Enslow Publishers, Box 398, 40 Industrial Rd., Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-0398.

Career

Teacher, 1965–95; writer, beginning 1980; San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, teacher, 1985–2003.

Member

California Reading Association, California Association of Teachers of English, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (San Diego chapter), American Association of University Women, Voices of Women.

Honors Awards

EDPress Award for Excellence for Juvenile Feature; Smithsonian Notable Children's Book designation; Parents' Choice Silver Honor; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People.

Writings

The Python and Anaconda, edited by Judy Lockwood, Crestwood House (Mankato, MN), 1988.

The Turtle and Tortoise, edited by Judy Lockwood, Crestwood House (Mankato, MN), 1988.

(With Pat Dorff and Judith A. Josephson) File—Don't Pile!: For People Who Write: Handling the Paper Flow in the Workplace or Home Office, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist, Enslow Publishers (Springfield, NJ), 1998.

(With Judith P. Josephson) Nitty-Gritty Grammar: A Not So-Serious Guide to Clear Communication, Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, CA), 1998.

Under the Lemon Moon, illustrated by Renée King Moreno, Lee &Low Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Gary Paulsen: Author and Wilderness Adventurer, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2000.

Snapshots, Bebop Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Judith P. Josephson) More Nitty-Gritty Grammar: Another Not-So-Serious Guide to Clear Communication, Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, CA), 2001.

CryptoMania!: Teleporting into Greek and Latin with the CryptoKids, illustrated by Kim Doner, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2004.

Edith Hope Fine

Rosa Parks: Meet a Civil-Rights Hero, Enslow (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2004.

Cricket at the Manger, illustrated by Winslow Pels, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2005.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Champion of Civil Rights, Enslow (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2006.

Work in Progress

"Three books, one set in Mexico, written with Judith P. Josephson, for Lee &Low, 2007; one set during the Yukon gold rush; and one about early automotive history, plus hundreds others waiting backstage."

Sidelights

Edith Hope Fine told SATA: "I'm crazy about books! I grew up reading, starting with comic books like Little Lulu and Scrooge McDuck. I wrote a zany dictionary with I was twelve—inventing words and making up definitions. My mother, who also loved words, typed it for me. She put the pages into a small notebook, which showed me that words are cool and that she valued my ideas. Today I still read everything I can get my hands on: kids' books, young-adult books, novels, mysteries, newspapers, billboards, cereal boxes….

"Some books are meant to be savored. I read them slowly. Their rhythmic, wondrous sentences beg to be read over and over. Out loud. And sometimes a book is so funny or poignant or moving or ethical that the minute I finish, I'll go right back to the beginning and start again, this time watching for clues as to how the writer swept me into the story.

"After years of teaching, I started writing seriously in 1980—for newspapers and magazines (both for adults and children). I wrote a weekly newspaper column for thirteen years—that cured me of writer's block, for sure. Since 1989, I've written thirteen books, three of them with colleague Judith P. Josephson. My book club meets monthly and my writing group has met every other Wednesday since 1989. My CryptoMania!: Teleporting into Greek and Latin with the CryptoKids has evolved into the CryptoKids Decoder Program, now in use across the country, helping young readers teleport into Greek and Latin roots.

"I speak often at conferences and do author visits and schools and libraries. I salute teachers and librarians: they forge on, never knowing the full impact of their important work.

"When I'm not writing or reading, you'll find me at the swimming pool or walking, making soup (I love soup) or baking, watching old-time movies, doing Sukokus or jigsaw puzzles, knitting, having fun with friends, family, and four grands, e-mailing pals around the country, and composting and recycling (I've been dubbed 'the Recycling Queen'). I pay attention to what's going on in the world, believe we can all work together for fairness and justice on this small blue marble we call home.

"My advice to new writers? Start now—today! This minute! And persist. Be original. Believe in yourself."