Carolyn Coman

{{short description|American writer}} {{infobox writer |name=Carolyn Coman |birth_date={{birth date and age|1951|10|28}} |birth_place=[[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S. |occupation=Writer |genre=[[Children's literature]] |children=2 }} '''Carolyn Coman''' (born October 28, 1951)<ref name=SAA/><ref name=isfdb/> is an American writer best known for [[children's books]]. Her novels ''[[What Jamie Saw]]'' (1995) and ''Many Stones'' (2000) were among the runners-up for major annual awards by the [[American Library Association]] (ALA) and the [[National Book Foundation]].

==Biography== Carolyn Coman was born October 28, 1951, in [[Evanston, Illinois]], near [[Chicago]].<ref name=SAA/><ref name=isfdb/> She worked as a [[bookbinder]] 1975-84 and later as an editor with [[Heinemann (book publisher)|Heinemann]] before she became a full-time writer.<ref name="SAA"/> She edited ''Body and Soul'', a photo-portrait documentary by [[Judy Dater]], and wrote the text of a children's [[picture book]], prior to completing four [[young-adult novel]]s from 1993 to 2000. Her novels for middle-grade readers (2004 and 2007) combine humour, investigation and a sense of nostalgia.

In the YA novels, "She explores the darker sides of growing up: dealing with parent's abandonment through death in ''Tell Me Everything'', abuse by a stepparent in ''What Jamie Saw'', sibling incest in ''Bee and Jacky'' and a political-inspired tragedy in ''Many Stones''."<ref name="SAA"/> ''Many Stones'' was inspired by the murder of [[Amy Biehl]].<ref name="SAA"/>

''[[What Jamie Saw]]'' (1995) was [[Newbery Medal]] honor book and a [[National Book Award for Young People's Literature]] finalist. ''Many Stones'' (2000) was a [[Michael L. Printz Award]] Honor Book and another National Book Award finalist.<ref name="SAA"/> (From 1922 the ALA Newbery Medal recognizes the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", with some designated runners-up now called "Honor Books". From 2000, the Newbery and Printz separately recognize books for "children" and "teens".)

Coman has two children and lives in [[South Hampton, New Hampshire]].<ref name=RH/>

== Works ==  * ''Body and Soul: ten American women'', edited by Coman, photographs by [[Judy Dater]] (Boston: Hill & Co., 1988), {{LCCN|87032696}} * ''Losing Things at Mr. Mudd's'', illustrated by [[Lance Hidy]] ([[Farrar, Straus & Giroux]], 1992), picture book - "Youngsters at the book's intended age range may be put off by Mr. Mudd's gruffness--even his eventual relenting bears a grudging tone. Despite the collaborators' evident talents, their work generally lacks child appeal."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-34657-7 |website=www.publishersweekly.com |title=Losing Things at Mr. Mudd's |publisher=PWxyz LLC |access-date=20 July 2015 }}</ref> * ''Tell me Everything'' (Farrar, 1993) * ''[[What Jamie Saw]]'' ([[Arden, NC]]: Front Street, 1995) * ''Bee and Jacky'' (Front Street, 1998) - "Coman's (What Jamie Saw) latest is the literary equivalent of a Diane Arbus photograph: it presents a sharp, shocking picture of pathology, but leaves it to the audience to imagine the world beyond the frame."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-886910-33-1 |website=www.publishersweekly.com |title=Bee and Jacky |publisher=PWxyz LLC |access-date=20 July 2015 }}</ref> * ''[[Many Stones]]'' (Front Street, 2000), Berry (16) reconnects with her father during their journey to South Africa.<ref>[http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/many-stones Many stones] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909150557/https://www.teenreads.com/reviews/many-stones |date=2018-09-09 }}; teenreads.com</ref> - "Writing with her usual economy and penetrating insight, Coman (Bee & Jacky, 1998, etc) portrays a young person searching for something—she's not sure what—and finding it in keeping the link that her sister forged with an amazing people. It's an uplifting tale: harsh, complex, but lit at the end by a promise of reconciliation."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/carolyn-coman/many-stones/ |website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Many Stones |date=15 October 2000 |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=20 July 2015 }}</ref> * ''The Big House'', illustrated by [[Rob Shepperson]] (Front Street, 2004) * ''Sneaking Suspicions'', illus. Shepperson (Front Street, 2007) – sequel to ''The Big House'' * ''The Memory Bank'', illus. Shepperson ([[Arthur A. Levine Books]], 2010), 288 pp.<ref name=isfdb/> - "Brilliantly crafted, thoroughly enjoyable and, though so very like Dahl, unique as a fascinating new way to ponder dreams and memories."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/carolyn-coman/memory-bank/ |website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=The Memory Bank |date=16 September 2010 |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=20 July 2015 }}</ref> * ''Writing Stories: ideas, exercises, and encouragements for teachers and writers of all ages'', illus. Shepperson (Portland, ME: [[Stenhouse Publishers]], 2011), {{LCCN|2011007002}}

== References == {{reflist |25em |refs= <ref name=isfdb>[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?144169 "Carolyn Comans – Summary Bibliography"]. [[ISFDB]]. Retrieved 2014-09-24.</ref> <ref name=RH>[http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=5460 "Carolyn Coman"]. [[Random House]]. Retrieved 2014-09-24.</ref> <ref name=SAA>''Something about the Author''; Vol 197; pp. 32–36. Gale, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-4144-2169-8}}.</ref> }}

== External links == * {{OL author}} * {{ISFDB name|144169}} * {{LCAuth|n87880937|Carolyn Coman|13|}} {{Portal |Children's literature}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coman, Carolyn}} [[Category:1951 births]] [[Category:American children's writers]] [[Category:20th-century American novelists]] [[Category:21st-century American novelists]] [[Category:20th-century American women novelists]] [[Category:21st-century American women novelists]] [[Category:Newbery Honor winners]] [[Category:Writers from Chicago]] [[Category:People from South Hampton, New Hampshire]] [[Category:Living people]]