Katherine Alice Applegate (born October 9, 1956), known professionally as K. A. Applegate or Katherine Applegate, is an American young adult and children's fiction writer, best known as the author of the ''

Animorphs ''Animorphs'' is a science fantasy series of children's books written by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, writing together under the name K. A. Applegate, and published by Scholastic. It is told in first person, with all ...

'', '' Remnants'', ''

Everworld ''Everworld'' is a fantasy novel series co-authored by K. A. Applegate and Michael Grant and published by Scholastic between 1999 and 2001. It consists of twelve books and a companion music CD titled ''The Everworld Experience''. Main character ...

'', and other book series. She won the 2013

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

for her 2012 children's novel ''

The One and Only Ivan ''The One and Only Ivan'' is a 2012 novel written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Patricia Castelao. It is about a silverback gorilla named Ivan who lived in a cage at a mall, and is written from Ivan's point of view. In 2013 it was n ...

''. Applegate's most popular books are science fiction, fantasy, and adventure novels. She won the Best New Children's Book Series Award in 1997 in ''Publishers Weekly''. Her book ''Home of the Brave'' has won several awards. She also wrote a

chapter book A chapter book is a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told pri ...

series in 2008–09 called ''Roscoe Riley Rules''.

Life and career

Applegate was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since then, she has lived in Texas, Florida, California, Illinois, and North Carolina. After living in

Pelago Pelago is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about east of Florence. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,396 and an area of .All demographics and other statis ...

, Italy for a year, she moved back to

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

. She got her start as a ghostwriter for ''

Sweet Valley Twins ''Sweet Valley Twins'' (also known as ''Sweet Valley Twins and Friends'') was the first spin-off to originate from ''Sweet Valley High'', and was created by Francine Pascal and written by Jamie Suzanne. Published by Bantam Books on 1 July 1986, ...

''. In 1997, she and her husband, Michael Grant, her co-author on many projects, including ''Animorphs'' and ''Everworld'', had their first child, who has since come out as a transgender woman. In 2003, they adopted a daughter, Julia, from China. Following the end of ''Remnants'', Applegate took three years off. Upon returning to writing, she wrote a picture book, ''Buffalo Storm'', a middle reader novel, ''Home of the Brave'', and an early chapters series, ''Roscoe Riley Rules'', with

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

. ''Home of the Brave'' won the SCBWI 2008

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 ...

for Best Fiction, the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award, and is a Judy Lopez Memorial Award honor book. Applegate won the 2013

for ''

'', drawn by Patricia Castelao and published by

. The annual award, granted by the American Library Association, recognizes the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." The story, based on the real-life

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulga ...

the gorilla, is written from Ivan's viewpoint as he lives in a glass cage in a shopping mall. According to the award committee: "Applegate gives readers a unique and unforgettable gorilla's-eye-view of the world that challenges the way we look at animals and at ourselves."

Selected works

Picture books

* ''Jack Rabbit and the Beanstalk'' (1997) * ''The Buffalo Storm'' (2007) *''Sometimes You Fly'' (2018) *''Ivan: A Gorilla's True Story'' (2020)

''Animorphs'' series

;Companion books * '' Megamorphs 1: The Andalite's Gift'' (1997) * '' Megamorphs 2: In the Time of Dinosaurs'' (1998) * '' Megamorphs 3: Elfangor's Secret'' (1999) * '' Megamorphs 4: Back to Before'' (2000) * ''

The Andalite Chronicles ''The Andalite Chronicles'' is a science-fiction novel and is the first companion book to the ''Animorphs ''Animorphs'' is a science fantasy series of children's books written by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, writi ...

'' (1997) * ''

The Hork-Bajir Chronicles ''The Hork-Bajir Chronicles'' is the second companion book to the '' Animorphs'' series, written by K. A. Applegate. With respect to continuity within the series, it takes place before book #23, '' The Pretender'', although the events told in th ...

'' (1998) * ''

The Ellimist Chronicles ''The Ellimist Chronicles'' is a children's science-fiction novel, a companion book to the '' Animorphs'' series written by K. A. Applegate. It tells the backstory of the Ellimist, a god-like being from the story. The introduction shows that th ...

'' (2000) * ''

Visser Visser is a Dutch occupational surname, meaning "fisherman". In 2007, nearly 50,000 people in the Netherlands carried the name, making it the eighth most populous name in the country.Alternamorphs 1: The First Journey'' (1999) (ghostwritten) * '' Alternamorphs 2: The Next Passage'' (2000) (ghostwritten)

''Everworld'' series

* ''Search for Senna'' (1999) * ''Land of Loss'' (1999) * ''Enter the Enchanted'' (1999) * ''Realm of the Reaper'' (2000) * ''Discover the Destroyer'' (2000) * ''Fear the Fantastic'' (2000) * ''Gateway to the Gods'' (2000) * ''Brave the Betrayal'' (2000) * ''Inside the Illusion'' (2000) * ''Understand the Unknown'' (2000) * ''Mystify the Magician'' (2001) * ''Entertain the End'' (2001)

''Remnants'' series

* ''The Mayflower Project'' (2001) * ''Destination Unknown'' (2001) * ''Them'' (2001) * ''Nowhere Land'' (2002) * ''Mutation'' (2002) * ''Breakdown'' (2002) * ''Isolation'' (2002) * ''Mother, May I?'' (2002) * ''No Place Like Home'' (2002) * ''Lost and Found'' (2003) * ''Dream Storm'' (2003) * ''Aftermath'' (2003) * ''Survival'' (2003) * ''Begin Again'' (2003)

''Making Out'' series

First edition publication dates are based upon the original publication when the series was titled ''Boyfriends/Girlfriends''. Only the first eight books were written by Applegate. Books 9–28 were ghostwritten. The 28 books in this series are: * ''Zoey Fools Around'' (1994) * ''Jake Finds Out'' (1994) * ''Nina Won't Tell'' (1994) * ''Slater's In Love'' (1994) * ''Claire Gets Caught'' (1994) * ''What Zoey Saw'' (1994) * ''Lucas Gets Hurt'' (1994) * ''Aisha Goes Wild'' (1994) * ''Zoey Plays Games'' (1996) * ''Nina Shapes Up'' (1996) * ''Ben Takes a Chance'' (1996) * ''Claire Can't Lose'' (1996) * ''Don't Tell Zoey'' (1996) * ''Aaron Lets Go'' (1996) * ''Who Loves Kate?'' (1996) * ''Lara Gets Even'' (1996) * ''Two-Timing Aisha'' (1996) * ''Zoey Speaks Out'' (1996) * ''Kate Finds Love'' (1997) * ''Never Trust Lara'' (1997) * ''Trouble with Aaron'' (1997) * ''Always Loving Zoey'' (1997) * ''Lara Gets Lucky'' (1997) * ''Now Zoey's Alone'' (1997) * ''Don't Forget Lara'' (1998) * ''Zoey's Broken Heart'' (1998) * ''Falling for Claire'' (1998) * ''Zoey Comes Home'' (1998)

''Ocean City/Making Waves'' series

Originally published as ''Ocean City'' and republished as ''Making Waves'', this series is unrelated to the Summer/Making Waves series below. * ''Making Waves'' (1993) * ''Tease'' (1993) * ''Sweet'' (1993) * ''Thrill'' (1993) * ''Heat'' (1994) * ''Heat Wave'' (1994) * ''Bonfire'' (1994) * ''Swept Away'' (1995) * ''Shipwrecked'' (1995) * ''Beach Party'' (1995) * ''Forever'' (1995)

''Summer'' series

This series was originally published as ''Making Waves'' in the UK. * ''June Dreams'' (1995) * ''July's Promise'' (1995) * ''August Magic'' (1995) * ''Beaches, Boys, and Betrayal'' (1996) * ''Sand, Surf, and Secrets'' (1996) * ''Rays, Romance, and Rivalry'' (1996) * ''Christmas Special Edition'' (1996) * ''Spring Break Reunion'' (1996)

''Roscoe Riley Rules'' series

* ''Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs'' (2008) * ''Never Swipe a Bully's Bear'' (2008) * ''Don't Swap Your Sweater for a Dog'' (2008) * ''Never Swim in Applesauce'' (2008) * ''Don't Tap-Dance on Your Teacher'' (2009) * ''Never Walk in Shoes That Talk'' (2009) * ''Never Race a Runaway Pumpkin'' (2009) * ''Don't Eat A Hula Hoop'' (2018)

''Ivan & Friends'' series

* ''

'' (2012) * ''The One and Only Bob'' (2020)

''Endling'' series

* ''Endling #1: The Last'' (2018) * ''Endling #2: The First'' (2019) * ''Endling #3: The Only'' (2021)

''Doggo and Pupper'' series

* ''Doggo and Pupper'' (2021) * ''Doggo and Pupper Save the World'' (2022)

Other books

* ''The Story of Two American Generals: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. and Colin L. Powell'' (1991; nonfiction) * ''Please Don't Go'' (1992) * ''My Sister's Boyfriend'' (1992) * ''The World's Best Jinx McGee'' (1992) * ''The Unbelieveable Truth'' (1992) *

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

prequels A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

(1994): ''King Triton, Beware!''; ''The Haunted Palace;'' ''The Boyfriend Mix-Up'' * ''Disney's Christmas With All the Trimmings: Original Stories and Crafts from Mickey Mouse and Friends'' (1994) * ''Sharing Sam'' (1995) * ''Tales from Agrabah: Seven Original Stories of Aladdin and Jasmine'' (1995) * ''Listen to My Heart'' (1996) * ''Off Limits'' (2001) * ''Home of the Brave'' (2007) * ''

Eve & Adam ''Eve & Adam'' is a young adult science fiction romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behavior ...

'' (with Michael Grant) (2013) * ''Crenshaw'' (2015) * ''Wishtree'' (2017) * ''Willodeen'' (2021) * ''Odder'' (2022)

Pseudonyms

* L.E. Blair: '' Girl Talk'' novels * Katherine Kendall (with Michael Grant):

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionall ...

romance novels * Beth Kincaid: ''Silver Creek Riders'' series * A.R. Plumb, and later, as Katherine Applegate:

's ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'' series * Pat Pollari: ''

Barf-O-Rama Barf-O-Rama is a series of children's novellas by Pat Pollari, the pseudonym of the popular children's author K.A. Applegate Katherine Alice Applegate (born October 9, 1956), known professionally as K. A. Applegate or Katherine Applegate, is an ...

'' series * Nicholas Stephens: ''Disney's Enter If You Dare: Scary Tales from the Haunted Mansion'' (1995); ''Disney's Climb Aboard If You Dare: Stories from the Pirates of the Caribbean'' (1996)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Applegate, K. A. 1956 births American children's writers American fantasy writers American women novelists Newbery Medal winners People from Irvine, California Women science fiction and fantasy writers Novelists from Michigan Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan Writers from California 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Living people American women children's writers Women writers of young adult literature American writers of young adult literature Writers of young adult science fiction American young adult novelists Animorphs Ghostwriters