Phyllis Reynolds Naylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
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Naylor in her writing chair.
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| Born | Phyllis Dean Reynolds January 4, 1933 Anderson, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1965–present |
| Notable awards | Newbery Medal 1992 |
| Spouse |
Thomas A. Tedesco Jr.
(m. 1951–1960)Rex Naylor
(m. 1960; died 2012) |
| Children | Jeffery Naylor Michael Naylor |
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (born January 4, 1933) is an American writer. She is famous for her books for children and young adults. Many people know her best for her four books about a dog named Shiloh. The first Shiloh book won the Newbery Medal in 1992, which is a very important award for children's books. She also wrote the popular "Alice" book series, which follows a girl as she grows up.
Contents
Early Life and First Steps in Writing
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana. She grew up during a tough time called the Great Depression. Even though times were hard, she felt rich because her parents had many books. They read stories aloud to her and her siblings. Her favorite book when she was a child was Huckleberry Finn.
Starting to Write Stories
Phyllis began writing her own stories when she was in elementary school. When she was 16, a teacher asked her to write a story for a church magazine. She wrote a baseball story called "Mike's Hero" and earned $4.67 for it! This encouraged her to send stories to other magazines like Highlights and Seventeen. She received rejection letters for two years, but she kept trying.
Life Changes and Education
After graduating from high school and junior college, Phyllis moved to Chicago. She worked as a secretary at a hospital. She faced some difficult times in her personal life. To support herself, she worked many jobs, including being an elementary school teacher. Later, she became an editorial assistant for a magazine.
Becoming a Full-Time Author
Phyllis moved to Maryland and decided to go to American University. She earned a degree in 1963. In 1960, she married Rex Naylor, and they had two sons. Phyllis had thought about studying psychology, but she chose to become a full-time writer instead.
First Books and Awards
Her first book for children was The Galloping Goat and Other Stories, published in 1965. Since then, she has written about two books every year. Many of her books have won special awards. The American Library Association and the International Reading Association have recognized her work. In 1985, she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for her mystery novel Night Cry.
The Popular Shiloh Series
In 1991, Phyllis Naylor published Shiloh. This heartwarming book is about a young boy and a dog that has been treated badly. The story takes place in West Virginia. Shiloh won the important Newbery Medal in 1992. This award brought her a lot of attention.
The book also won several other awards, like the Sequoyah Children's Book Award. In 1999, Shiloh was chosen as a recommended book for kids aged nine to twelve. Because of its popularity, Naylor wrote two more books in the series: Shiloh Season (1996) and Saving Shiloh (1997). The Shiloh trilogy was even ranked high on the National Education Association's list of top 100 children's books.
The Alice Series
In 1985, Naylor wrote The Agony of Alice. This book is about a sixth-grade girl named Alice who is growing up without her mother. She tries to find good role models and figure out life. Readers loved Alice and wanted more stories about her. So, Naylor started the Alice series.
In this series, Alice grows older in each book. Naylor even wrote three prequel books about a younger Alice. The series covers many months of Alice's life from ages 12 to 18. The final book shows highlights of her life from age 18 to 60. The Alice books are praised for showing what it's really like to be a regular girl. They cover topics about growing up and facing different challenges. Because they are so realistic, some people have tried to have them removed from libraries.
Personal Life
Phyllis Naylor was married to Rex Naylor for 52 years until he passed away in 2012. They have two sons, Jeffrey and Michael. They also have four grandchildren: Sophia, Tressa, Garrett, and Beckett. Sophia is also a writer, comedian, and playwright.
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has written over 130 books and about 2000 articles. She says she will keep writing "as long as she can hold a pencil." She also helped start the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship.
Awards and Recognitions
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has received many awards for her writing, including:
- Newbery Medal
- Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Writers Award
- Child Study Award
- Kerlan Award
- Foremother Award from National Center for Health Research, 2014
Selected Works
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has written many books across different series and genres. Here are some of her well-known works:
Alice Series
- The Agony of Alice (1985)
- Alice in Rapture, Sort of (1989)
- Reluctantly Alice (1991)
- All but Alice (1992)
- Alice in April (1993)
- Alice in-Between (1994)
- Alice the Brave (1995)
- Alice in Lace (1996)
- Outrageously Alice (1997)
- Achingly Alice (1998)
- Alice on the Outside (1999)
- The Grooming of Alice (2000)
- Alice Alone (2001)
- Simply Alice (2002)
- Starting With Alice (2002) (prequel)
- Alice in Blunderland (2003) (prequel)
- Patiently Alice (2003)
- Including Alice (2004)
- Lovingly Alice (2004) (prequel)
- Alice on Her Way (2005)
- Alice in the Know (2006)
- Dangerously Alice (2007)
- Almost Alice (2008)
- Intensely Alice (2009)
- Alice in Charge (2010)
- Incredibly Alice (2011)
- Alice on Board (2012)
- Now I'll Tell You Everything (2013)
Shiloh Series
- Shiloh (1991)
- Shiloh Season (1996)
- Saving Shiloh (1997)
- A Shiloh Christmas (2015)
Hatfords and Malloys Series
- The Boys Start the War (1992)
- The Girls Get Even (1993)
- Boys Against Girls (1994)
- The Girls' Revenge (1998)
- A Traitor Among the Boys (1999)
- A Spy Among the Girls (2000)
- The Boys Return (2001)
- The Girls Take Over (2002)
- Boys in Control (2003)
- Girls Rule! (2004)
- Boys Rock! (2005)
- Who Won the War? (2006)
The Witch Saga Series
- Witch's Sister (1975)
- Witch Water (1977)
- The Witch Herself (1978)
- The Witch's Eye (1990)
- Witch Weed (1991)
- The Witch Returns (1992)
Bessledorf Mysteries
- The Mad Gasser of Bessledorf Street (1983)
- The Bodies in the Bessledorf Hotel (1986)
- Bernie Magruder & the Haunted Hotel (1990)
- Bernie and the Bessledorf Ghost (1993)
- Bernie Magruder & the Drive-Thru Funeral Parlor (1993)
- Bernie Magruder and the Bus Station Blow-Up (1996)
- Bernie Magruder and the Parachute Peril (1999)
- Bernie Magruder and the Pirate's Treasure (1999)
- Bernie Magruder and the Case of the Big Stink (2001)
- Bernie Magruder & the Bats in the Belfry (2003)
