Connie Porter facts for kids
Connie Rose Porter, born on July 29, 1959, is an African-American writer. She writes books for young adults and also teaches creative writing. Porter is famous for writing the Addy books in the American Girl Collection Series. Six of her Addy books have sold over 3 million copies! She has also published two other novels, All-Bright Court (1991) and Imani All Mine (1999).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Connie Porter grew up in Lackawanna, New York. This was a small city near Buffalo, where she lived in the Baker Housing project with her family. Her parents had ten children, and they lived on a small income. They faced many challenges during her childhood.
Porter describes herself as a quiet child who loved to read. She enjoyed books by authors like Lois Lenski and Beverely Cleary. As a teenager, she became interested in books by and about black writers and characters.
When she was 14, Porter started writing. Her parents gave her a typewriter for Christmas when she was in 10th grade. She began writing poetry, inspired by Nikki Giovanni. She graduated from Buffalo City Honors School. Later, she earned her bachelor's degree from State University of New York at Albany in 1981. She then received a Masters of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1987. She has also taught creative writing at places like Emerson College.
Connie Porter's Writing Career
All-Bright Court Novel
Connie Porter's first novel, All-Bright Court, started as a short story assignment at LSU. This book allowed her to write about the area where she grew up. It also explored the steel industry, which interested her.
All-Bright Court tells the story of black families from the South. They move to a Northern town hoping for better jobs and a new life. The story focuses on the Taylor family and their neighbors in a low-income apartment complex. They soon discover that their new life brings challenges like frequent layoffs and tough working conditions. Despite these difficulties, the people in the community support each other.
A reviewer from The New York Times said that Porter's writing is often beautiful. The reviewer also noted that Porter shows the real struggles of her characters. The strong feelings in All-Bright Court come from her well-written characters, who feel like real people.
The Popular Addy Series
The Addy Series books are based on the American Girl doll named Addy. Pleasant Company, which owns American Girl, asked Connie Porter to write these books. The stories follow Addy Walker, a young girl who escapes slavery with her mother during the American Civil War. They find freedom in Philadelphia.
In Philadelphia, Addy grows up and faces new challenges. She learns to read and deals with unfair treatment. To write these books, Ms. Porter did a lot of research about the year 1864. She wanted to make sure the historical details were accurate. She also wanted to show the difficulties of slavery in a way that would connect with her young readers.
When the Addy doll and books were first released in 1993, over 1 million books were sold. Connie Porter became very popular, and more than 15,000 people came to meet her. The Addy novels have now sold over 3 million copies.
Imani All Mine Novel
Imani All Mine is Connie Porter's second novel for adults. It was released in 1998, after her first six Addy books. This novel is a coming-of-age story about Tasha, a 15-year-old black girl from Buffalo, New York. Tasha is a good student who dreams of going to college to escape her challenging city life.
However, her plans change when she becomes pregnant unexpectedly. When her baby girl is born, Tasha names her Imani. Tasha tries her best to be a good mother in a tough environment. She faces challenges like poverty and unfair treatment. She also deals with common teenage issues and her mother's new boyfriend.
Awards and Recognitions
Connie Porter has received many awards and honors for her writing. She was named a fellow to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She also won a regional award in the Grants Best Young American Novelist Competition.
Her novel All-Bright Court was named an American Library Association Best Book of 1991. It was also a New York Times Notable Book. The Addy Series was voted Best Children's Series of 1993 in the Publishers Weekly Cuffie Awards. Overall, she has sold over 4.5 million books. Her books have also won the 1994 International Reading Association Children's Choice Award and the 1994 Children's Book Council Children's Choice Award. She also received the Uncrowned Queens Culture Keeper Award.
Personal Life and Interests
Connie Porter sees herself as a black female writer. She includes her experiences as both black and female in her stories. She believes that these parts of her identity make her writing stronger.
At one point, Porter lived in Pittsburgh with her mother and young daughter. She has experience teaching 9th grade. She is very interested in science and once thought about becoming a physicist or a marine biologist. She still reads science books for fun. She also enjoys listening and singing along to Broadway show tunes. Because she writes the Addy series, American Girl gave her the entire Addy doll collection!
She admires many other authors, including Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen, Richard Wright, Louise Meriwether, Rosa Guy, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Jean Toomer, Ralph Ellison, Gabriel García Márquez, Alice Walker, Gloria Naylor, and Terry McMillan.
List of Published Books
- All-Bright Court (1991)
- Meet Addy: An American Girl (1993)
- Addy Learns a Lesson: A school story (1993)
- Addy's Surprise: A Christmas story (1993)
- Happy Birthday, Addy!: A springtime story (1994)
- Addy Saves the Day: A summer story (1994)
- Changes for Addy: A winter story (1994)
- Imani All Mine (1999)
- High Hopes for Addy (1999)
- Addy's Little Brother (2000)
- Addy's Wedding Quilt (2001)
- Addy Studies Freedom (2002)
- Addy's Summer Place (2003)
