Bolivian American
Bolivian Americans or Bolivia-Americans (, or ) are Americans of at least partial Bolivian descent.
Bolivian Americans are usually those of Indigenous, Mestizo, or Spanish background but also occasionally having African, German, Croatian, ...
writer of
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
.
Early life and education
Ben Mikaelsen was born on January 5, 1952, in
La Paz
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
,
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, the son of
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
parents of Danish descent. He wasn't sent to school until fourth grade where he was
bullied
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
for his race. Mikaelsen moved to the United States with his family shortly before entering
seventh grade
Seventh grade (also 7th Grade or Grade 7) is the seventh year of formal or compulsory education. The seventh grade is typically the first or second year of middle school. In the United States, kids in seventh grade are usually around 12–13 years ...
, where he encountered further bullying because of his poor English capabilities. As a teen in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, he taught himself to swim and dive, and this led him to take
flight
Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
and
skydiving
Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes.
For hu ...
lessons. Mikaelsen attended
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
and
Bemidji State University
Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public university in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides higher education to north-central Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Coll ...
.
Personal life
When building his home in Montana, Ben adopted an
American black bear
The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...
named Buffy for 26 years until the bear's death in September 2012. Ben Mikaelsen considered Buffy a "750-pound member of my family." He has been writing full-time since 1984 and lives in
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Red Midnight'' (2002)
* ''Tree Girl'' (2004)
* ''Ghost of Spirit Bear'' (2008)
* ''Jungle of Bones'' (2014)
Awards and honors
Mikaelson's work has won many state youth literature awards, including the
California Young Reader Medal
The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily ...
International Reading Association
The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dial ...
Children's Book Award, Older Reader Category, ''Rescue Josh McGuire''
* 1999: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, ''Petey''
* 1999: Golden Spur, Juvenile Fiction, ''Petey''
* 2002: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, ''Touching Spirit Bear''