Peg Kehret
Peg Kehret (born Margaret Ann Schulze on November 11, 1936) is an American author, primarily writing for children between the ages of 10 and 15.
Life
Margaret Ann Schulze was born on November 11, 1936, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She contracted polio at age 12 in 1949.[1] She had each of the three types of polio: spinal, respiratory, and the least common kind, bulbar. She was paralyzed from the neck down and had a nine-month hospital stay. The experience changed Kehret's life, as she describes in her memoir Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio.[2] Kehret made a complete recovery, later graduating from Austin High School and then attending the University of Minnesota for one year.[3] In 1955, she married Carl Kehret; they moved to California and adopted two children, Bob and Anne.
In 1970, the Kehrets moved to Washington. Carl died in 2004. Kehret has four grandchildren: Brett, Chelsea, Eric, and Mark. She has a great-grandson, Seth, who also lives in Washington. Kehret currently resides near Mt. Rainier National Park.[4]
Career
Before Kehret began writing children's books, she wrote plays, radio commercials and magazine stories. She has published forty-six works for middle school students, including four children's drama books.[5][3] Some of Kehret's most famous works include Stolen Children, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, and Runaway Twin.
Awards and recognition
Peg Kehret's books for young people have earned a wide readership and critical acclaim. Among her many honors are the Pen Center West Award in Children's Literature, the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and illustrators. Children's Choice Awards from 29 states, the Forest Roberts Playwriting Award, and the Henry Bergh Award from the ASPCA. Many for her books have been selected by the American Library Association for its Recommended Books for Reluctant Readers.[6] In total, her books have won more than fifty state young reader awards.
Kehret's polio memoir received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews,[7] won the 1998 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, annually determined by a vote of Vermont schoolchildren, and the 1999 Mark Twain Readers Award, a similar annual book award determined by a vote of Missouri schoolchildren in grades 4 to 6. The award recognized four of her books from 1999 to 2012: Abduction!, Runaway Twin, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, and Stolen Children.
Selected works
Fiction
- Deadly Stranger (Dodd, Mead, 1987) ISBN 9780396090397[8]
- Nightmare Mountain (Dutton, 1989) ISBN 9780525650089
- Sisters, Long Ago (Dutton, 1990) ISBN 9780525650218[9]
- Cages (Dutton, 1991) ISBN 9780525650621[10]
- Night of Fear (Dutton, 1994) ISBN 9780525651369
- The Richest Kids in Town (Dutton, 1994) ISBN 9780525651666[11]
- Earthquake Terror (Dutton, 1996) ISBN 9780525652267[12]
- Searching for Candlestick Park (Dutton, 1997) ISBN 9780525652564[13]
- The Secret Journey (Simon & Schuster, 1999) ISBN 9780671034160[14]
- I'm Not Who You Think I Am (Dutton, 1999) ISBN 9780525461531[15]
- My Brother Made Me Do It (Simon & Schuster, 2000) ISBN 9780671034184
- Don't Tell Anyone (Dutton, 2000) ISBN 9780525463887[16]
- Saving Lilly (Aladdin, 2001) ISBN 9780671034221[17]
- Escaping the Giant Wave (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003) ISBN 9780689852725
- Abduction! (Dutton, 2006) ISBN 9780142406175[18]
- The Ghost's Grave (Dutton, 2005) ISBN 9780525461623[19]
- Stolen Children (Dutton, 2008) ISBN 9780525478355[20]
- Runaway Twin (Dutton, 2009) ISBN 9780525421771[21]
- Ghost Dog Secrets (Dutton, 2010) ISBN 9780525421788[22]
- Dangerous Deception (Dutton, 2014) ISBN 9780525426523[23]
Disaster series
Ellen and Corey series
Frightmares series
- Cat Burglar on the Prowl (Minstrel, 1995) ISBN 9780671891886
- Bone Breath and the Vandals (Simon & Schuster, 1995) ISBN 9780671891909
- Don't Go Near Mrs. Tallie (Minstrel, 1995) ISBN 9780671891916
- Desert Danger (Aladdin, 1995) ISBN 9780671891930
- The Ghost Followed Us Home (Minstrel, 1996) ISBN 9780671535216
- Race to Disaster (Minstrel, 1996) ISBN 9780671535247
- Screaming Eagles (Aladdin, 1996) ISBN 9780671535261
- Backstage Fright (Minstrel, 1996) ISBN 9780671535285
Pete the Cat series
Drama
- Let Him Sleep 'Till It's Time for His Funeral (Hanbury Plays, 1976), ISBN 9781852050139
- Spirit! (Pioneer Drama Service, 1979)
- Winning Monologues for Young Actors: 65 honest-to-life characterizations to delight young actors and audiences of all ages (Colorado Springs, CO: Meriwether Publishing, 1986) ISBN 9781439510230
- Encore!: More Winning Monologues for Young Actors : 63 More Honest-to-Life Monologues for Teenage Boys and Girls (Meriwether, 1988) ISBN 9780916260545
- Acting Natural (Meriwether Publishing, 1991) ISBN 9780916260842
- Tell It Like It Is: Fifty Monologues for Talented Teens (Meriwether Publishing, 2007) ISBN 9781566081443
Nonfiction
- Vows of Love and Marriage (Meriwether Publishing, 1980) ISBN 9780916260071
- Refinishing and Restoring Your Piano (Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1985) ISBN 978-0830618712
- Wedding Vows: How to Express Your Love in Your Own Words (Meriwether Publishing, 1989) ISBN 9780916260590
- Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio (Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman, 1996) ISBN 9780807574577[7]
- Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays (Perfection Learning, 1999) ISBN 9781627652377[30]
References
- Kehret, Peg. (1996). Small steps : the year I got polio. Albert Whitman & Company. Morton Grove, Ill.: Albert Whitman. ISBN 0807574570. OCLC 33969341.
- "Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio", Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 1996.
- Kehret, Peg. "BIO". Peg Kehret.
- "Peg Kehret | Kidsreads". www.kidsreads.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- Kehret, Peg. "Pioneer Drama Service: Titles by Peg Kehret". Pioneer Drama Service.
- "Peg Kehret Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level | Scholastic". www.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- "Small Steps by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1996-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Deadly Stranger by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1987-04-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Sisters, Long Ago by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1990-03-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Cages by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1991-05-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "The Richest Kids in Town". Kirkus Reviews. 1994-09-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1996-02-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Searching for Candlestick Park by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1997-09-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "The Secret Journey by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1999-12-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "I'm Not Who You Think I Am by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1999-04-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Don't Tell Anyone by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2000-06-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Saving Lilly by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2001-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Abduction by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2004-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2005-08-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Stolen Children by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Dangerous Deception by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "The Blizzard Disaster". Kirkus Reviews. 1998-05-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Terror at the Zoo by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1992-02-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Horror at the Haunted House by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1992-09-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Danger at the Fair by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1995-02-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "The Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2001-04-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Spy Cat by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2003-02-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Shelter Dogs by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 1999-03-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Five Pages a Day: A Writer's Journey by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Animals Welcome by Peg Kehret". Kirkus Reviews. 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- "Animals Welcome: A Life of Reading, Writing and Rescue". School Library Journal. 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
Further reading
- Interview with TeenInk
- If You Want to Write, Be a Reader in La Crosse Tribune
- Something About the Author. (1993) Volume 73. P. 113-114.
- Something About the Author. (2000) Volume 108. P. 130-135.
External links
- Official website
- Papers at Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota
- Peg Kehret at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Peg Kehret at Library of Congress Authorities, with 53 catalog records