Lasky's nonfiction books, many of which have been illustrated with photographs by her husband Christopher Knight, are among her most popular. In some, Lasky focuses on traditional arts and crafts such as dollmaking, weaving, puppet making, and gathering maple sugar. In others, she looks at various topics in science or natural history such as monarch butterflies, paleontology, volcanic islands, tall ships, the history of the Audubon Society, and even the birth of her daughter Meribah. "In my own experience in writing [nonfiction] I have always tried hard to listen, smell, and touch the place that I write about--especially if I am lucky enough to be there," Lasky explained in a 1985 article in Horn Book.
Lasky also writes fiction, both for hildren and adults; she has done more than a dozen novels for young people and five adult novels under her married name Kathryn Lasky Knight. Whatever audience she is writing for, her fiction shows the same meticulous attention to detail as her nonfiction. A contributor in Children's Literature Review once pointed out that "Lasky's novels . . . feature strong-wille protagonists and generally contain ethnic, historical, or religious elements which inspire or challenge the characters."
Kathryn Lasky was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she was educated at "a very old fashioned all-girls school," as she wrote in the Sixth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators.
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