Gail Carson Levine
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Gail Carson Levine (born September 17, 1947 in New York, N.Y.) is an American author of young adult books.
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[edit] Early life
She credits her parents David and Sylvia for her creative streak. Her father owned a commercial art studio and her mother was a teacher who wrote plays for her students to perform. Her sister Rani teaches painting and has exhibited her works in the U.S. and Jamaica. Levine herself loved to draw and paint, but while taking a course on writing and illustrating for kids, she found that she had a penchant for writing instead. She says, "I had always been the hardest on myself when I drew and painted. I am not hard on myself when I write. I like what I write, so it is a much happier process. She now lives in Brewster,NY."[1]
She was a member of the Scribble Scrabble Club In elementary school.
[edit] Professional life
Her first published novel was Ella Enchanted, which garnered critical acclaim and earned her numerous awards, including a 1998 Newbery Honor. Ella Enchanted is a humorous retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. In Levine's version, a fairy named Lucinda gives Ella the "gift" of obedience. She must obey any command given her. The story follows Ella as she tries to find self-absorbed Lucinda (despite advice from the family cook, Mandy, who turns out to be Ella's godmother and fairy herself) and have the gift rescinded. The movie adaptation of the book keeps the same basic premise, but differs from the novel in several significant ways.
Telling fairy tales with a twist is a hallmark of Levine's writing. Her Princess Tales series, set in the Kingdom of Biddle, are light-hearted and heart-warming adventures with smart, sassy heroes and heroines.
Levine has also written an illustrated novel for young readers called Fairy Dust and the Quest For the Egg, which was published in 2005 by Disney Press as the cornerstone of the new "Disney Fairies" franchise. The novel explores the world of Never Land (of Barrie's and Disney's Peter Pan) and the community of fairies who live in the area of the island known as Fairy Haven. Familiar characters such as Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, and Peter Pan appear in the story, as well as original characters. Levine's fairy society is a peaceful one, where every fairy and sparrow man (male fairy) has a specific "talent" -- a job that they instinctively know how to do perfectly, and love. Some of the new characters introduced include Rani (named for Levine's sister), a water-talent fairy; Vidia, a fast-flying-talent fairy; and Prilla, a fairy who seems at first to have no talent.She loves strawberry shortcake .
A sequel to this novel, to be written by Levine and published in 2007, is currently in negotiation.
[edit] Bibliography
- Ella Enchanted (1997)
- Dave at Night (1999)
- The Wish (2000)
- Betsy Who Cried Wolf (2002)
- The Princess Tales
- The Fairy's Mistake (1999)
- The Princess Test (1999)
- Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep (1999)
- Cinderellis and the Glass Hill (2000)
- The Fairy's Return (2002)
- For Biddle's Sake (2002)
- also collected as The Princess Tales: Volume One and The Princess Tales: Volume Two
- The Two Princesses of Bamarre
- Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (2005)
- Fairest (2006)
- Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly (2006)
[edit] References
- [1] Interview at HarperChildrens.com
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- Cynthia Leitich Smith Children's Literature Resources Web site, interview with Gail Carson Levine, December 2000.
- Official web site of the Disney Fairies franchise
- Interviews, reading guides, and essays by Gail Carson Levine (Official publisher web page)
