Dori Hillestad Butler (born August 25, 1965 in

Fairmont, Minnesota Fairmont is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Minnesota, Martin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 10,487 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Fairmont was platted in 1857. The city was so name ...

) is an American author of more than 40

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

, as well as magazine stories, plays and educational materials. Her first book, ''The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off'', was published in 1997. She is known particularly for ''

The Truth about Truman School ''The Truth about Truman School'' is a children's book by Dori Hillestad Butler that was first published on March 1, 2008, through Albert Whitman & Company. The book deals with the subject of cyberbullying and has been listed several times as ...

'', a 2008

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

title focusing on the subject of

cyber bullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased us ...

, and for '' My Mom's Having a Baby'' (illustrated by Carol Thompson), which in 2011 appeared on the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

list of most commonly challenged books in the United States This list of the most commonly challenged books in the United States refers to books sought to be removed or otherwise restricted from public access, typically from a library or a school curriculum. This list is primarily based on U.S. data gath ...

for its portrayal of conception and childbirth. Her 2010 mystery title, ''Buddy Files: Case of the Last Boy'', won the 2011

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for the best juvenile mystery published in 2010. Before becoming a children's author, Butler worked for three years as a page at a library.

Biography

Butler was born August 25, 1965, in

to John and Donna Hillestad. She attended

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 ...

from 1983 to 1985,

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

from 1985 to 1986, and

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

from 1986 to 1987. Butler is married to Bob Butler, with whom she has two children: Ben and Artemis. They live in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington. ...

Censorship

Butler's ''My Mom's Having A Baby!'' book has frequently been the source of censorship due to inclusions of nudity and sex education, as well as being considered "sexually explicit" and "unsuited to age group." According to the

, it was the 58th most banned and challenged book in the United States between 2010 and 2019. In 2011, it was the fourth most banned and challenged book in the country.

Awards and honors

A total of fourteen of Butler's books are

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

(JLG) books, including eight of her ''King & Kayla'' books: ''The Case of the Missing Dog Treats'' (2017), ''The Case of the Secret Code'' (2017), ''The Case of the Mysterious Mouse'' (2017), ''The Case of the Lost Tooth'' (2018), ''The Case of Found Fred'' (2019), ''The Case of the Unhappy Neighbor'' (2020), ''The Case of the Gold Ring'' (2021), and ''The Case of the Lost Library Book'' (2022). The following are also JLG books: ''Dear Beast'' (2020), ''Mr. Summerling's Secret Code'' (2021), ''The Pet Parade'' (2021), ''The Hidden Room'' (2021), ''Summer Island'' (2021), and ''The Final Treasure'' (2022). ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats'' was named one of the best books of the year by the

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

, as was ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Mysterious Mouse'' and ''King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred.''

Publications

Standalone books

* ''The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off'', illustrated by Jack Lindstrom (1996) * ''M Is For Minnesota'' (1998) * ''ABC's of Wisconsin'' (2000) * ''H is for Hoosier'' (2001) * ''Sliding Into Home'' (2003) * ''Whodunit? How the Police Solve Crimes'' (2003) * ''Alexandra Hopewell, Labor Coach'' (2005) * ''Do You Know the Monkey Man?'' (2005) * ''My Mom's Having a Baby!: A Kid's Month-By-Month Guide to Pregnancy'' (2005) * ''Trading Places with Tank Talbott'' (2005) * ''W Is For Wisconsin'' (2005) * ''Tank Talbott's Guide to Girls'' (2006) * ''Zack's Potty'' (2006) * ''F Is for Firefighting'' (2007) * ''My Grandpa Had a Stroke'', illustrated by Nicole Wong (2007) * ''The Truth about Truman School'' (2008) * ''P Is for Police'', illustrated by Joan Waites (2009) * ''Yes, I Know the Monkey Man'' (2009)

''Buddy Files'' series

The ''Buddy Files'' are illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau and published by Albert Whitman Company. # ''The Case of the Lost Boy'' (2010) # ''The Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts'' (2010) # ''The Case of the Missing Family'' (2010) # ''The Case of the Fire Alarm'' (2011) # ''The Case of the Library Monster'' (2011) # ''The Case of the School Ghost'' (2012)

''Dear Beast'' series

The ''Dear Beast'' series is illustrated by Kevan Atteberr and published by

Holiday House A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

. # ''Dear Beast'' (2020) # ''The Pet Parade'' (2021) # ''Someone Is Missing!'' (2022) # ''Simon Sleeps Over'' (2022)

''The Haunted Library'' series

''The Haunted Library'' series is illustrated by Aurore Damant and published by

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. In recent years, through the P ...

. # ''The Haunted Library'' (2014) # ''The Ghost in the Attic'' (2014) # ''The Ghost Backstage'' (2014) # ''The Five O'Clock Ghost'' (2015) # ''The Secret Room'' (2015) # ''The Ghost at the Fire Station'' (2015) # ''The Ghost in the Tree House'' (2016) # ''The Hide-and-Seek Ghost'' (2016) # ''The Ghosts at the Movie Theater'' (2017) # ''The Underground Ghosts: A Super Special'' (2017)

''King & Kayla'' series

The ''King & Kayla'' books are illustrated by Nancy Meyers and published by

Peachtree Publishers Peachtree, peach tree or variations may refer to: * Peach, the fruit-bearing tree, ''Prunus persica'' Places * Peachtree, North Carolina * Peachtree, West Virginia * Peachtree City, Georgia, a southern suburb of Atlanta * Peachtree Corners, Georg ...

. # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats'' (2017) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code'' (2017) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Mysterious Mouse'' (2017) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth'' (2018) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of Found Fred'' (2019) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Unhappy Neighbor'' (2020) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Gold Ring'' (2021) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Library Book'' (2022) # ''King & Kayla and the Case of the Cat Hunt'' (2023)

''The Treasure Troop'' series

''The Treasure Troop'' series is illustrated by Tim Budgen and published by

Penguin Workshop Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initiall ...

. # ''Mr. Summerling's Secret Code'' (2021) # ''The Hidden Room'' (2021) # ''Summer Island'' (2021) # ''The Final Treasure'' (2021)

References

External links

Official website

Interview with Bill Kenower, Editor-in-Chief of Authors Magazine
o
The Writing Life
November 30, 2018
Interview
with

Cynthia Leitich Smith Cynthia Leitich Smith (born 1967) is a New York Times best-selling author of fiction for children and young adults. A citizen of the Creek people, Muscogee Creek Nation, she writes fiction for children and teens centered on the lives of modern- ...

, December 2013
Interview with Pelican Publishing
during the 2009 IRA Conference in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

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 ...

a

May 14, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Dori Hillestad 21st-century American writers American children's writers Edgar Award winners Writers from Kirkland, Washington 1965 births Living people 21st-century American women writers Hamline University alumni University of Minnesota alumni Bemidji State University alumni