Willo Davis Roberts (May 29, 1928 – November 19, 2004)"Willo Davis Roberts." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2005. ''Gale Literature Resource Center'', link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000083546/LitRC?u=umuser&sid=summon&xid=576a9948. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025 was an American writer, known primarily for award-winning

children's 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 ''child ...

mystery and suspense novels.

Biography

Willo Louise Davis was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. In 1949, she married David W. Roberts. She was originally trained as a paramedic and began writing in her spare time. Her first book, ''Murder At Grand Bay'' (published in 1955), was written for an adult market. Her first children's book, ''The View from the Cherry Tree'', was published in 1975. Her books included ''The View from the Cherry Tree'', ''Twisted Summer'', ''Sugar Isn't Everything'', ''Don't Hurt Laurie'', ''Megan's Island'', '' Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job'', ''Hostage'', ''The Girl with the Silver Eyes'', ''The One Left Behind'', ''Scared Stiff'', ''Caught!'', and ''Undercurrents''. Roberts died of congestive heart failure at the age of 76 in Granite Falls, Washington. According to publisher

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, "''The One Left Behind'' would have been her hundredth book."

Awards

Davis won

Edgar Allan Poe Awards 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 honor ...

("Edgars") in 1989, 1995, and 1997 for best juvenile and best

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 ...

mysteries. For her body of work, Davis was awarded the 1986 Pacific Northwest Writers Conference Achievement Award, and the 1990 Governor's Award for contribution to the field of children's literature in Washington State. Awards for ''Don't Hurt Laurie!'' * Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, National Council for the Social Studies/ Children's Book Council, 1977 * Young Hoosier Book Award, Association for Indiana Media Educators, 1980 * West Australian Young Readers Award, 1981 * Georgia Children's Book Award, University of Georgia, 1982 Awards for ''The Girl with the Silver Eyes'' *

Mark Twain Readers Award The Mark Twain Readers Award, or simply Mark Twain Award, is a children's book award which annually recognizes one book selected by vote of Missouri schoolchildren from a list prepared by librarians and volunteer readers. It is now one of four ...

, Missouri Library Association and Missouri Association of School Librarians, 1983 *

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 ...

, California Reading Association, 1986 Awards for '' Baby Sitting Is a Dangerous Job'' *

* Young Hoosier Book Award * South Carolina Children's Book Award

References

External links

* *
Willo Davis Roberts
at Fantastic Fiction
Willo Davis Roberts
at publisher Simon & Schuster

at ''CBC Magazine'', The Children's Book Council (archived 2007-09-27) {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Willo Davis 1928 births 2004 deaths American children's writers American mystery novelists Edgar Award winners Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan American women mystery writers American women children's writers American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers Novelists from Michigan People from Snohomish County, Washington 21st-century American women