Vivian Vande Velde

Vivian Vande Velde is the author of numerous fantasy novels for young adult readers. She has turned Grimm's fairy tales upside down in Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird. Her vampire tale, Companions of the Night, earned her an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and was called "a tingly thriller" by Horn Book. Vivian's sense of humor is delightfully showcased in Smart Dog. About her recent book, Never Trust a Dead Man, Horn Book said, "Favoring the comic over the macabre, Vande Velde offers a funny and imaginative murder mystery that intrigues as much as it entertains." To arrange for Vivian to visit your school, contact Kia Neri at Harcourt Brace: kneri@harcourt.com

Recently Vivian shared these thoughts on stories and reading:

"I've always been addicted to stories.Books, comic books, TV, movies, listening to people--I've always wanted to know: what happened next? why did he or she do that? how did everybody feel about what happened? I hate hearing only part of a story; I want to know it all. While my husband is switching channels with the remote control during commercials or half-time, I can get hooked on three or four stories at once after seeing about two and a half seconds of each.

"The books I remember my parents reading to me are the Br'er Rabbit stories, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and The Wizard of Oz. Hmmm, maybe that explains why I have trouble with reality and mostly write fantasies.

"My favorite book is The Once and Future King, which is one version of the story of King Arthur. I read it first when I was in 8th grade, and every once in a while I still read it again. It's funny and sad and grand and gritty all at the same time.

"My favorite author to read out loud is James Marshall, who wrote the George and Martha books. When my daughter was young enough to be read to (she's 19 now and generally does her own reading), I never got tired of George and Martha. James Marshall could tell a whole story in just a few short sentences, and show a character's mood with deceptively simple drawings. No matter how often my daughter and I read those stories, they could always make me smile.

"I hope my stories have that same effect on someone."

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