Stephanie S. Tolan

Stephanie S. Tolan is an American author. She wrote the book Surviving the Applewhites, which won her a Newbery Honor.

Stephanie S. Tolan's earliest memories involve books, those that were read to her and those she read to herself, often late at night with a flashlight under the covers. She always thought there was a special magic in the little black marks on paper that could turn into whole worlds and real people. Born in Ohio and raised in Wisconsin, she wrote her first story in the fourth grade. It was thrilling to discover she could make the magic herself, and she decided then and there to be a writer. She loves to play video games and also likes to listen to music. Other ambitions came and went, but writing stayed on, and she majored in creative writing at Purdue University, and then went on to a Master's Degree in English. She married then got a sudden addition to her life of three young stepsons, and then a son, forced writing into the nooks and crannies, but she wrote poetry and plays for adults as she taught college English. Her son was born in 1972 and was exceptionally gifted. Her husband's career in professional theatre moved the Tolan family around the country and writing was a comforting constant. Her first groups of students were fourth and fifth graders and she found among them a new generation of intense readers, still using the flashlight-under-the-covers trick. The difference, she felt, was less in the children themselves than in the fast-changing world they lived in. Her writing for children and young adults began with Grandpa and Me in 1978. She has also written many other books which include A Good Courage, Plague Year, Who's There, The Face in the Mirror, Save Halloween, Ordinary Miracles, and Surviving the Applewhites which is a humorous book which has been listed by School Library Journal as one of the best books for children of 2002 and by the Smithsonian as a 2002 notable children’s book, and as a 2003 Newbery Honor book. She has also co-authored for many books for the gifted children since she has one of her own.

Books

* 2006 "Listen!"
* 2004 "Bartholomew's Blessing"
* 2003 "Surviving the Applewhites" 2003 Newbery Honor BooK
* 2001 "Flight of the Raven"
* 1999 "Ordinary Miracles"
* 1998 "The Face in the Mirror"
* 1996 "Welcome to the Ark" Volume 1 of the Ark Trilogy
* 1996 "The Great Skinner Enterprise"
* 1994 "Who's There?"
* 1993 "Save Halloween"
* 1992 "The Witch of Maple Park"
* 1992 "Sophie and the Sidewalk Man"
* 1992 "March Hooper and the Greatest Treasure in the World"
* 1990 "Plague Year"
* 1988 "A Good Courage"
* 1987 "The Great Skinner Getaway"
* 1987 "The Great Skinner Homestead"
* 1986 "Pride of the Peacock"
* 1983 "The Great Skinner Strike"
* 1983 "A Time to Fly Free"
* 1981 "No Safe Harbors"
* 1981 "The Liberation of Tansy Warner"
* 1980 "The Last of Eden"
* 1978 "Granpa and Me"

Plays and Musicals

* Bridge to Terabithia
* The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks
* A Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
* Surviving the Applewhites
* The Ledge
* Not I Said the Little Red Hen

Articles

* 2006 "Change Your Story, Change Your Life" http://www.stephanietolan.com/change_your_story.htm
* 2000 "The Problem of Pain" http://www.stephanietolan.com/problem_of_pain.htm
* 2000 "Spirituality and the Highly Gifted Adolescent" http://www.stephanietolan.com/spirituality.htm
* 1999 "Self-Knowledge, Self-Esteem and the Gifted Adult" http://www.stephanietolan.com/self-knowledge.htm
* 1999 "Dabrowski's Over-excitabilities: A Layman's Explanation" http://www.stephanietolan.com/dabrowskis.htm
* 1996 "Is it a Cheetah" http://www.stephanietolan.com/is_it_a_cheetah.htm
* 1990 "Helping Your Highly Gifted Child" http://www.stephanietolan.com/helping.htm
* 1985 "Stuck in Another Dimensions: The Exceptionally Gifted Child in School" http://www.stephanietolan.com/another_dimension.htm