User talk:Brianhunt0

Brian Hunt Pd.5 3/12/08

Nancy Farmer

“Carefully drawn characters, deals with serious issues and at the same time provoke laughter, richly conceived plots and themes, born story teller” (Anderson, 1). Nancy Farmer writes provocative novels for young adults. Her whimsical characters and plots draw young readers to start reading and never stop. One of the best pre-teen novelists of our time, Nancy Farmer develops extensive plots, and dreamlike characterizations, which draws in her pre-teen readers, who can see themselves in any of her protagonists. Nancy Farmer was born July 9th 1941 in Arizona. Farmer’s father was the manager of a hotel in Yuma Arizona. Farmer had her first job at this hotel at the age of nine. She worked as the hotel clerk, where she heard many stories from cowboys, circus people, rail road workers, and travelers. This is where many of Farmer’s ideas stem from, even to this day. Nancy Farmer attended Reed College in Washington in 1963. After graduating from Reed she enrolled at Merritt College to study chemistry. Still immersed in chemistry she moved on to Berkley to study Chemistry. Then after college she joined the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps allowed her to travel to India. India is another big influence on her writing. When her time in the Peace Corps was over she moved to Africa where she lived for seventeen years. She used her chemistry background to get a job as a lab technician. In Zimbabwe is where she met her husband Harold. Zimbabwe was where the Farmers had their first child Daniel. While she was pregnant with her son Farmer began writing. She wrote a few books in Africa that got published, but none gained any fame. Her and her husband decided to move back to the United States for their son. They moved to Menlow Park, California, this is where they still remain today. “Nancy Farmer is one of the up and rising young adult authors in the United States” (Martin 3). Nancy Farmer has been praised by many of her critics for her writing. She has also been praised for her contributions to the community. Nancy Farmer did lots of volunteer work in Africa while she was a member of the Peace Corps. She also helped while she was in Africa. She taught many young children English, and worked as a lab technician. Although she has been rewarded for both her contributions to the community and in writing she has had more success in writing. Over the past few years Farmer has been awarded four different awards for her books. These awards include Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, National Book Award, Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book for Young People's Literature , and the Newberry Honor Winner.