Marion Dane Bauer (born November 20, 1938) is an American children's author. Bauer was born on November 20, 1938, and brought up in Oglesby, a small prairie town in

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

. She was educated at LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College, the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

and the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where she graduated in 1962. She married Ronald Bauer, raising their two children as well as being a foster parent for other children. That marriage ended in divorce after 28 years. She has taught English at a

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

high school and classes in creative writing 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 ...

. Marion was one of the founders of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...

. She lives and works in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. Marion wanted to be a writer from an early age. As a child, she says, "I constantly made

tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

up in my head, for my dolls, for my friends. I acted them out using my cigar box filled with marbles as characters." An aunt gave her vital encouragement during her teenage years, by taking her work seriously and urging her to continue writing. Bauer recalls that "the example of someone who loved writing and found doing it both good and important, probably influenced me more deeply than any other."

Recognition

''Rain of Fire'' (1983) won the

Jane Addams Children's Book Award The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's literature, children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were ...

in 1984. '' On My Honor'' (1986) was a

Newbery Honor Book 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 contr ...

in 1987 and won the

William Allen White Children's Book Award The William Allen White Children's Book Award is a set of two annual awards for books selected by vote of Kansas schoolchildren from lists prepared by committee. As a single award it was established in 1952 by Ruth Garver Gagliardo, a children's ...

in 1989. ''Am I Blue'', an anthology of children's fiction about gay and lesbian issues, won a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

in 1994, and the

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

for literature in 1995. Bauer received the Kerlan Award in 1996.
The Longest Night
' (2009) won a 2010

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 picture-book text.

Books

*
Shelter from the Wind
', 1976 *
Foster Child
', 1977 *
Tangled Butterfly
', 1980 *
Rain of Fire
', 1983
Like Mother, Like Daughter
1985 * '' On My Honor'' (Newbery Medal Winner), 1986 *
Touch the Moon
', 1987 *
A Dream of Queens and Castles
', 1990 *
Face to Face
', 1991 *
What's Your Story?: a young person's guide to writing fiction
', 1992 *
Ghost Eye
', 1992 *
A Taste of Smoke
', 1993 * (ed.)
Am I Blue?: coming out from the silence
', 1994 *
A Question of Trust
', 1994 *
A Writer's Story: From Life to Fiction
', 1995 *
When I Go Camping with Grandma
', 1995 *
Our Stories, A Fiction Workshop for Young Authors
', 1996 *
If You Were Born a Kitten
', 1997 * ''Alison's Wings'', 1997 * ''Alison's Puppy'', 1997 * ''Alison's Fierce and Ugly Halloween'', 1997 * ''Turtle Dreams'', 1997 * ''Christmas in the Forest'', 1998 * ''Bear's Hiccups'', 1998 *
An Early Winter
', 1999 *
Sleep, Little One, Sleep
', 1999 * ''The Double Digit Club'', 2000 *
Grandmother's Song
', 2000 *
Jason's Bears
', 2000 * ''My Mother is Mine'', 2001 * ''If you Had a Nose Like an Elephant's Trunk'', 2001 * ''

Runt In a group of animals (usually a litter of animals born in multiple births), a runt is a member which is significantly smaller or weaker than the others.. Owing to its small size, a runt in a litter faces disadvantage, including difficulties in c ...

'', 2002 * ''The Kissing Monster'', 2002 * ''Uh-Oh!'', 2002 * ''Frog's Best Friend'', 2002 * ''Love Song for a Baby'', 2002 *
Land of the Buffalo Bones: the diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English girl in Minnesota
', 2003. In the

Dear America ''Dear America'' is a series of historical fiction novels for children published by Scholastic starting in 1996. By 1998, the series had 12 titles with 3.5 million copies in print. The series was canceled in 2004 with its final release, ''Hear ...

series. * ''Snow'', 2003 * ''Wind'', 2003 * ''Why Do Kittens Purr?'', 2003 * ''Toes, Ears & Nose!'' 2003 *
The Double-Digit Club
', 2004 * ''The Very Best Daddy of All'', 2004 * ''A Mama for Owen'', 2004 * ''Clouds'', 2004 * ''Rain'', 2004 *
A Bear Named Trouble
', 2005 * ''The Blue Ghost'', 2005 * ''Easter is Coming'', 2005 * ''A Recipe for Valentine's Day'', 2005 * ''Waiting for Christmas'', 2005 * ''If Frogs Made Weather'', 2005 * ''Niagara Falls'', 2006 * ''The Rocky Mountains'', 2006 * ''The Grand Canyon'', 2006 * ''Christmas Lights'', 2006 * ''I'm Not Afraid of Halloween!'', 2006 * ''The Statue of Liberty'', 2007 * ''Mount Rushmore'', 2007 * ''The Mighty Mississippi'', 2007 * ''The Secret of the Painted House'', 2007 *
Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins
', 2007 * ''Baby Bear Discovers the World'', 2007 * ''A Mama for Owen'', 2007 * ''The Red Ghost'', 2008 * ''The Green Ghost'', 2008 * ''Some Babies Are Wild'', 2008 * ''Yellowstone'', 2008 * ''Volcano!'', 2008 * ''Flood!'', 2008 * ''Earthquake!'', 2009 * ''The Very Little Princess'', 2009 * ''The Christmas Baby'', 2009 * ''Martin Luther King, Jr. - My First Biography'', 2009 * ''The Longest Night'', 2009 * ''One Brown Bunny'', 2009 * ''How Do I Love You?'', 2009 * ''Cutest Critter'', 2010 * ''Christopher Columbus - My First Biography'', 2010 * ''Harriet Tubman - My First Biography'', 2010 * ''Thank You for Me!'', 2010 * ''The Longest Night'', 2011 * ''In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb'', 2011 * ''Benjamin Franklin - My First Biography'', 2011 * ''The Golden Ghost'', 2011 * ''The Very Little Princess - Rose's Story'', 2011 * ''The Very Little Princess - Zoey's Story'', 2011 * ''Dinosaur Thunder'', 2012 * ''Halloween Forest'', 2012 *
Little Dog, Lost
', 2012 * ''Celebrating Arizona'', 2013 * ''Celebrating Texas'', 2013 * ''Celebrating New York'', 2013 * ''Celebrating Florida'', 2013 * ''Celebrating California'', 2013 * ''Celebrating Virginia and Washington, D.C.'', 2013 * ''Celebrating North Carolina'', 2014 * ''Celebrating Washington State'', 2014 * ''Celebrating Massachusetts'', 2014 * ''Celebrating Illinois'', 2014 * ''Crinkle, Crackle, Crack, It's Spring'', 2015 *
Little Cat's Luck
', 2016 * ''Sun'', 2016 * ''Rainbow'', 2016 * ''Winter Dance'', 2017 * ''Jump Little Wood Ducks'', 2017 * ''The Stuff of Stars'', 2018 * ''The Appalachian Trail'', 2020 *
Sunshine
', 2021 * ''Moon - Our Universe Series'', 2021 * ''Mars - Our Universe Series'', 2021 * ''Earth - Our Universe Series'', 2021 * ''The Animals Speak'', 2021 * ''The Night Sky - Our Universe Series'', 2023 * ''We, the Curious Ones'', 2023 * ''The Solar System - Our Universe Series'', 2024

References

Additional Sources

External links

Marion Dane Bauer's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Marion Dane 1938 births Living people American children's writers Writers from Illinois People from Oglesby, Illinois American lesbian writers Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature winners Stonewall Book Award winners American women children's writers University of Missouri alumni University of Oklahoma alumni 21st-century American women writers