Jacqueline Briggs Martin is an American author of children's literature and a teacher of creative writing. Her books have received several awards including,

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

(1999),

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing ...

, Lupine Award (1996, 1998, 2003), Award for Excellence in Children's Literature from the Sterling North Society, and the Green Earth Award (2018). She has taught at

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

The Loft Literary Center The Loft Literary Center is a non-profit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota incorporated in 1975. The Loft is a large and comprehensive independent literary center which offers a variety of writing classes, conferences, grant ...

, and is on faculty at

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 ...

Early life and education

Martin was born in Lewiston, Maine on April 15, 1945. She spent her early life on a

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1966, and obtained a BA from the Institute of Child Development at University of Minnesota in 1971.

Career

She was inspired to write children's literature after reading books with her two kids, wanting to write books that kids and their older relatives would enjoy reading. Martin finds story ideas from a variety of sources. Some stories start with elements of her own family history and childhood, and others arise from interesting people she has heard about. She spends much of her time doing background research and fact-checking to ensure historical details are present and accurate. In ''Snowflake Bentley'', she had to cut the story to fit the work's picture book format, so she saved some historical facts for sidebars on the pages for interested older readers. Martin believes that writers are always improving and considers herself a slow writer.

Selected works

* '' Creekfinding: A True Story'' * ''Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix'' * ''Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious'' * ''Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table'' * ''The Chiru of High Tibet'' * ''Chicken Joy on Redbean Road'' * ''Banjo Granny'' * ''On Sand Island'' * ''The Finest Horse in Town'' * ''The Water Gift and The Pig of the Pig'' * ''The Lamp, the Ice, and the Boat Called Fish: Based on a True Story'' * ''

Snowflake Bentley Wilson Alwyn Bentley (February 9, 1865 – December 23, 1931), also known as Snowflake Bentley, was an American meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their featu ...

'' * ''Grandmother Bryant's Pocket'' * ''Good Times on Grandfather Mountain'' * ''Button, Bucket, Sky'' * ''Washing the Willow Tree Loon''. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Simon & Schuster, 1995.

Personal life

Martin currently lives in

Mount Vernon, Iowa Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The population was 4,527 at the time of the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Mount Verno ...

. She married Richard Martin in 1967: they have two children, Sarah and Justin.

References

External links

Official website

Blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jacqueline Briggs 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American children's writers Writers from Maine Writers from Iowa People from Mount Vernon, Iowa Hamline University faculty American women children's writers American women academics