{{short description|American children's book author (born 1959)}} {{Infobox writer | name = Marissa Moss | image = Marissa Moss.JPG | caption = Moss in 2014. | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|9|29}} | birth_place = Jeannette, Pennsylvania, United States | death_place = | occupation = Writer | nationality = American | period = | genre = Children's books | height = | subject = | movement = | notableworks= ''Amelia's notebooks'' | influences = | website = {{URL|http://marissamoss.com}} }}
'''Marissa Moss''' (born September 29, 1959, Jeannette, Pennsylvania) is an American children's book author.
==Work== Moss's work spans the many ages of a child. She started her first career making picture books. ''Amelia's Notebook'' was her first deviation from that format. This book is the format of a journal or diary and is penned in a black and white composition notebook. Moss herself says that she loves this format that she stumbled upon because it allows her to explore the world through a child's eyes. In fact, Moss says, "The things that happened to Amelia really happened to me--from the fire in the school to the marshmallows on the ceiling — though the names have been changed because my sister is mad enough at me already!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.childrenslit.com/f_marissamoss.htm |title=Children's Literature: Meet Authors & Illustrators |accessdate=2007-01-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206101122/http://www.childrenslit.com/f_marissamoss.htm |archivedate=2007-02-06 }}</ref>
Other books in this series, which traces Amelia's life through the years, are: ''Amelia Writes Again'', ''Amelia Hits the Road'', ''Amelia Takes Command'', ''The All New Amelia'', ''My Notebook (with help from Amelia)'', ''Luv, Amelia, Luv Nadia'', ''Amelia's Family Ties'', ''Amelia Works It Out!'', ''Oh Boy, Amelia!'', ''Amelia Lends a Hand'', ''Amelia's Best Year Ever'', ''Amelia's Book of Notes & Note Passing'', ''Amelia's Sixth Grade Notebook'', ''Dr. Amelia's Boredom Survival Guide'', ''Madame Amelia Tells All'', ''toddler time'' ''Amelia's Bully Survival Guide'', ''Amelia's Guide to Gossip: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly'', ''Amelia's 5th-Grade Notebook'', ''Amelia's School Survival Guide'', ''Amelia's Most Unforgettable Embarrassing Moments'' and ''Amelia's Must-Keep Resolutions For The Best Year Ever!''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marissamoss.com|title=Marissa Moss.com<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=Marissamoss.com|accessdate=6 August 2018}}</ref> Still to come in the series and slated for publication in 2007 are: ''The All-New Amelia'', ''Amelia Tells All'', ''Amelia's 7th-Grade Notebook'', and ''Vote 4 Amelia.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=4&pid=333751|title=SimonSays's On Demand Pages on Vimeo|website=Simonsays.com|accessdate=6 August 2018}}</ref>
Moss has also written several historical journals, also in diary format. These include an account of a girl's life during the depression entitled, ''Rose's Journal: The Story of a Girl in the Great Depression.'';<ref>{{cite book|title=Rose's Journal: The Story of a Girl in the Great Depression|first=search|last=results|date=1 October 2001|publisher=Harcourt Children's Books|isbn=0152024239 }}</ref> ''Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl''; ''Emma's Journal: The Story of a Colonial Girl''; ''Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl''; and ''Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome''...
Earlier in her career, Moss wrote and illustrated several children's books not in journal format. These include ''Who Was It?'', ''After School Monster'', ''Want to Play?'', ''But Not Kate'', ''Regina's Big Mistake'', ''Mel's Diner'', ''In America'', and ''The Ugly Menorah'', although most of these are now out of print.
Moss has also written books illustrated by C.F. Payne: ''True Heart'', ''Brave Harriet: The First Woman to Fly the English Channel'', and ''Mighty Jackie: The Strikeout Queen''.
Moss illustrated ''G is For Googol: A Math Alphabet Book'', which was written by David Schwartz. She has also written the ‘Mira’s Diary’ series.
Moss has reviewed children's books with ''New York Journal of Books'' since 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/reviewer/marissa-moss |title= New York Journal of Books |accessdate=2018-12-11}}</ref>
==Personal life== Moss first submitted a book for publication at the age of nine. She attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1979. Moss studied art history in graduate school for two years and then attended the California College of Arts and Crafts to study the publishing world. She, like most artists and authors, received many rejections before finally breaking into print with her book, ''One, Two, Three & Four. No More?'' published by Houghton Mifflin in 1988. Moss currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jsp?authorID=65&displayName=Biography|title=Book Wizard: Teachers, Find and Level Books for Your Classroom - Scholastic|website=Books.scholastic.com|accessdate=6 August 2018}}</ref>
==Awards==
===2023=== * Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Middle Grade: ''The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner'' <ref name="stba">{{Cite web |title=Sydney Taylor Book Awards |url=https://jewishlibraries.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023stbaallawardwinnersever.pdf |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=The Association of Jewish Libraries |archive-date=2023-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306182249/https://jewishlibraries.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023stbaallawardwinnersever.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> === 2017 === * California Young Reader Medal: ''Barbed Wire Baseball''<ref>{{cite web |title=California Young Reader's Medal - Barbed Wire Baseball |date=February 1, 2017 |url=http://www.californiayoungreadermedal.org/books/barbed-wire-baseball}}</ref>
=== 2015 === * Washington State Student Award for Informational Text: ''Barbed Wire Baseball''
=== 2014 === * ALA Notable Book: ''Barbed Wire Baseball''<ref>{{cite web |title=2014 Notable Children's Books |work=Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) |date=2 January 2015 |url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb/ncbpastlists/ncb_2014 }}</ref> * Museum of Tolerance Once Upon A World Children's Book Award: ''Barbed Wire Baseball''<ref>{{cite web |title=Winner 2014 Award |publisher=Museum of Tolerance |date=2014 |url=http://www.museumoftolerance.com/education/archives-and-reference-library/once-upon-a-world-childrens-book-award/winner-2014-award.html}}</ref>
=== 2013 === * California Book Award: ''Barbed Wire Baseball''<ref>{{cite web |title=California Book Awards Complete List of Winners |date=March 8, 2016 |work=ISSUU |url=https://issuu.com/thecommonwealth/docs/complete_california_book_awards_win }}</ref> * California Reading Association Eureka Honor Book: ''Barbed Wire Baseball''
=== 2012 === * California Book Award: ''A Soldier's Secret''
===2005=== * Selected for the 2005-2006 Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award Master List: ''Mighty Jackie: the Strike-out Queen'' * Placed on the Chickadee Award Master List for 2005-2006 in the state of Maine: ''Mighty Jackie: the Strike-out Queen'' * Selected for the 2006 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award Master List: ''Mighty Jackie: the Strike-out Queen''
===2001=== * Sugarman Family Award for Jewish Children's Literature: ''Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl'' * National Parenting Publications Gold Award: ''Amelia's Moving Pictures'' (Video) * Parent's Guide Children's Media Award: ''Amelia's Moving Pictures'' (Video) * Parent's Guide Fiction Award: ''Oh Boy, Amelia''
===2000=== * Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older Readers: ''Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl'' <ref name="stba" />
===1995=== * Child Study Children's Book of the Year: ''In America''
== External links == * [http://www.marissamoss.com Official site] * [http://www.patriciamnewman.com/moss.html Who Wrote That? Featuring Marissa Moss] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060902075758/http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/marissamoss.htm Marissa Moss Teacher Resource File] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070206101122/http://www.childrenslit.com/f_marissamoss.htm Meet Children's Authors and Illustrators: Marissa Moss] * [http://books.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jsp?authorID=65&displayName=Biography Scholastic Books Author Biography]
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Marissa}} Category:American children's writers Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Writers from Berkeley, California Category:People from Jeannette, Pennsylvania Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:California College of the Arts alumni