Kathryn Lasky facts for kids

Kathryn Lasky (born June 24, 1944) is a famous American writer who creates amazing books for children and young adults. She has also written books for grown-ups using different names like Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann.

Some of her most popular children's books include the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, the Dear America books, and The Royal Diaries books. She has won many important awards for her writing, such as the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature and a Newbery Honor.

About Kathryn Lasky

Kathryn Lasky grew up in Indianapolis, a city in Indiana. She is married to Christopher Knight, and they live in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Deer Isle, Maine.

She studied English at the University of Michigan. Later, she earned a master's degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College. This background likely helped her understand how to write for young readers.

Kathryn Lasky has written more than one hundred books! Her Guardians of Ga'Hoole series is incredibly popular, with over 8 million copies sold worldwide. Her stories have been translated into 19 different languages, reaching readers all over the globe.

In 2011, she received the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature. This award celebrates authors who write excellent books for young people.

Kathryn Lasky has also written non-fiction books for adults. One of these is Night Witches, which tells the true story of brave Soviet women pilots who flew planes during World War II.

Kathryn Lasky's Books

Kathryn Lasky has written many exciting book series and standalone stories. Here are some of her well-known works for young readers.

Camp Princess Series

• Born To Rule
• Unicorns? Get Real!

The Royal Diaries Series

This series lets you read fictional diaries of famous princesses and queens from history.

• Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor (England 1544)
• Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles (Austria-France 1769)
• Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country (France 1553)
• Jahanara: Princess of Princesses (India, 1627)
• Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven (Japan 1858)

Dear America Series

These books are written as diaries from the perspective of young girls living through important moments in American history.

• A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620
• Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903
• Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932
• A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C., 1917
• Blazing West: The Journal of Augustus Pelletier, Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804

My America Series

This series also features diaries of young characters experiencing historical events.

• Hope In My Heart: Sofia's Immigrant Diary
• Home at Last: Sofia's Immigrant Diary
• An American Spring: Sofia's Immigrant Diary

Daughters of the Sea Series

• Hannah
• May
• Lucy
• The Crossing

Horses of the Dawn Series

This series follows the adventures of horses.

1. The Escape (2014)
2. Star Rise (2014)
3. Wild Blood (2016)

Starbuck Family Adventures Series

• Double Trouble Squared
• Shadows in the Water
• A Voice in the Wind

Guardians of Ga'Hoole Series

This is one of Kathryn Lasky's most famous series, about a world of owls.

1. The Capture
2. The Journey
3. The Rescue
4. The Siege
5. The Shattering
6. The Burning
7. The Hatchling
8. The Outcast
9. The First Collier
10. The Coming of Hoole
11. To Be a King
12. The Golden Tree
13. The River of Wind
14. Exile
15. The War of the Ember

• The Rise of a Legend (2013) (This book tells the story of Ezylryb, a character from the series, before the main events.)

There are also two guidebooks that help readers learn more about the world of Ga'Hoole. These are narrated by an owl named Otulissa.

• A Guide Book to the Great Tree (2007)
• Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole (2010)

Wolves Of The Beyond Series

This series explores the lives and adventures of wolves.

• Lone Wolf
• Shadow Wolf
• Watch Wolf
• Frost Wolf
• Spirit Wolf
• Star Wolf

The Deadlies Series

• Felix Takes the Stage
• Spiders on the Case

Bears of the Ice Series

• Quest of the Cubs
• The Den of Forever Frost
• The Keepers of the Key

Standalone Books for Young Readers

Kathryn Lasky has also written many individual books that are not part of a series.

• Night Witches (2017)
• The Last Girls of Pompeii (2007)
• Blood Secret (2004)
• Broken Song (2005)
• Star Split (1999)
• Alice Rose and Sam (1998)
• True North (1996)
• Beyond the Burning Time (1994)
• Memoirs of a Bookbat (1994)
• The Bone Wars (1988)
• Pageant (1986)
• Beyond the Divide (1983)
• The Night Journey (1981) (This book won the National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature in 1982.)
• Prank (1984)
• Robin Hood: The Boy Who Became a Legend (1999)
• Hawksmaid: The Untold Story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian (2000)
• Ashes (2010)
• Chasing Orion (2007)
• Home Free (1985)

Children and Young Adult Non-Fiction

These books share real facts and information in an engaging way.

• John Muir: America's First Environmentalist
• Interrupted Journey: Saving Endangered Sea Turtles
• Silk and Venom: Searching for a Dangerous Spider (2011)
• Shadows in the Dawn: The Lemurs of Madagascar
• The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
• Sugaring Time
• Days of the Dead
• Searching for Laura Ingalls
• Monarchs
• Surtsey: The Newest Place on Earth
• Dinosaur Dig
• Traces of Life: The Origins of Humankind
• A Baby map
• "Tangled in Time: The Portal" (2019)
• "Tangled in Time: The Burning Queen" (2019)

Picture Books

Kathryn Lasky has also written many wonderful picture books for younger children.

• Lunch Bunnies
• Show and Tell Bunnies
• Science Fair Bunnies
• Tumble Bunnies
• Lucille's Snowsuit
• Lucille Camps In
• Starring Lucille
• Pirate Bob
• Humphrey, Albert, and the Flying Machine
• Before I was Your Mother
• The Man Who Made Time Travel
• A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet
• Love That Baby
• Mommy's Hands
• Porkenstein
• Born in the Breezes: The Voyages Of Joshua Slocum
• Vision of Beauty
• First Painter
• The Emperor's Old Clothes
• Sophie and Rose (1998)
• Marven of the Great North Woods (This book won the National Jewish Book Award for Children's Picture Books in 1997.)
• A Brilliant Streak: The Making of Mark Twain
• Hercules: The Man, The Myth, The Hero
• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth
• She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!
• The Gates of the Wind
• Pond Year
• Cloud Eyes
• I Have an Aunt on Marlborough Street
• Sea Swan
• My Island Grandma