Amber Brown facts for kids
Cover artwork of Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon, the first title in the series
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Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown Amber Brown Goes Fourth Amber Brown Wants Extra Credit Forever Amber Brown Amber Brown Sees Red Amber Brown Is Feeling Blue I, Amber Brown Amber Brown Is Green With Envy What a Trip, Amber Brown (A is for Amber) It's Justin Time, Amber Brown (A is for Amber) Get Ready for Second Grade, Amber Brown (A is for Amber) Orange You Glad It's Halloween, Amber Brown? (A is for Amber) It's a Fair Day, Amber Brown (A is for Amber) Second Grade Rules, Amber Brown (A is for Amber) Amber Brown is Tickled Pink Amber Brown is On the Move Amber Brown Horses Around |
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| Author | Paula Danziger, Tony Ross (illustrator, all titles) Bruce Coville (revival), Elizabeth Levy (revival) |
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| Illustrator | Paula Danziger |
| Cover artist | Paula Danziger |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature, realistic fiction |
| Published | 1994-2003 (original), 2012-2015 (revival) |
The Amber Brown series is a collection of realistic fiction books for kids. These books were first created and written by Paula Danziger. Later, Elizabeth Levy and Bruce Coville continued the series. The first books were illustrated by Tony Ross, and later ones by Anthony Lewis.
The original books are told from the point of view of a nine-year-old girl named Amber Brown. Her stories begin near the end of third grade and continue through the summer after fourth grade. She turns ten during this time. Paula Danziger was great at mixing funny moments with real-life challenges. This helped readers connect deeply with Amber's journey.
Contents
Starting Amber's Story
The first book, Amber Brown is Not a Crayon, begins after Amber's parents have separated. Her mom starts dating Max, while her dad moves to Paris for a new job. Dealing with her parents living apart is tough enough. But then, Amber's best friend, Justin Daniels, finds out he is moving to Alabama. These big changes and the difficulties of having separated parents set the stage for the rest of the series.
A is for Amber Books
Paula Danziger also wrote a series of picture books for younger readers called A is for Amber. These books were illustrated by Tony Ross. They show adventures with Amber and Justin before he moved away. These stories also take place before Amber's parents separated, but when they were already arguing sometimes.
Listening to Amber Brown
You can also listen to the Amber Brown books as Audiobooks. Live Oak Media published these audio versions. Dana Lubotsky reads the stories. The A is for Amber audiobooks even have special music and sound effects.
How Amber Brown Was Created
The Amber Brown series was inspired by Paula Danziger's real-life niece, Carrie Danziger. This happened after both of Carrie's best friends moved away in the same summer. While Amber was a character Paula Danziger created, some parts of Carrie's life were used in the books. For example, the second book, You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox Amber Brown, was inspired by Paula and Carrie going to England together. Carrie actually got chicken pox on her first night there! Tony Ross, the illustrator, even used Carrie as the model for his first drawings of Amber.
The Series Continues
The original Amber Brown series seemed to end in 2004 when the author, Paula Danziger, passed away. However, in 2012, a new book was announced: Amber Brown is Tickled Pink. This new book was written by popular children's authors Bruce Coville and Elizabeth Levy. Paula Danziger had called them her best friends. Amber Brown is Tickled Pink was released on September 13, 2012. Tony Ross returned as the illustrator for this book.
Two more books followed in 2013 and 2014. Amber Brown is On the Move came out on September 12, 2013. The final book, Amber Brown Horses Around, was released in 2014. Anthony Lewis took over from Tony Ross as the illustrator for these last two books. The idea to bring the series back came from Danziger's agent, Amy Berkower.
