Stephanie S. Tolan is an American author. She wrote the book Surviving the Applewhites, which won her a Newbery Honor.
Stephanie S. Tolan's earliest memories involve books, those that were read to her and those she read to herself, often late at night with a flashlight under the covers. She always thought there was a special magic in the little black marks on paper that could turn into whole worlds and real people. Born in Ohio and raised in Wisconsin, she wrote her first story in the fourth grade. It was thrilling to discover she could make the magic herself, and she decided then and there to be a writer. Other ambitions came and went, but writing stayed on, and she majored in creative writing at Purdue University, and then went on to a Master's Degree in English. She married then got a sudden addition to her life of three young stepsons, and then a son, forced writing into the nooks and crannies, but she wrote poetry and plays for adults as she taught college English. Her son was born in 1972 and was exceptionally gifted. Her husband's career in professional theatre moved the Tolan family around the country and writing was a comforting constant. Her first groups of students were fourth and fifth graders and she found among them a new generation of intense readers, still using the flashlight-under-the-covers trick. The difference, she felt, was less in the children themselves than in the fast-changing world they lived in. Her writing for children and young adults began with Grandpa and Me in 1978. She has also written many other books which include A Good Courage, Plague Year, Who's There, The Face in the Mirror, Save Halloween, Ordinary Miracles, and Surviving the Applewhites which is a humorous book which has been listed by School Library Journal as one of the best books for children of 2002 and by the Smithsonian as a 2002 notable children’s book, and as a 2003 Newbery Honor book. She has also co-authored for many books for the gifted children since she has one of her own.
Books
- 2006 Listen!
- 2004 Bartholomew's Blessing
- 2002 Surviving the Applewhites 2003 Newbery Honor Book
- 2001 Flight of the Raven
- 1999 Ordinary Miracles
- 1998 The Face in the Mirror
- 1996 Welcome to the Ark Volume 1 of the Ark Trilogy
- 1996 The Great Skinner Enterprise
- 1994 Who's There?
- 1993 Save Halloween
- 1992 The Witch of Maple Park
- 1992 Sophie and the Sidewalk Man
- 1992 March Hooper and the Greatest Treasure in the World
- 1990 Plague Year
- 1988 A Good Courage
- 1987 The Great Skinner Getaway
- 1987 The Great Skinner Homestead
- 1986 Pride of the Peacock
- 1983 The Great Skinner Strike
- 1983 A Time to Fly Free
- 1981 No Safe Harbors
- 1980 The Liberation of Tansy Warner
- 1980 The Last of Eden
- 1978 Granpa and Me
Plays and Musicals
- Bridge to Terabithia
- The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks
- A Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
- Surviving the Applewhites
- The Ledge
- Not I Said the Little Red Hen
Articles
- 2006 Change Your Story, Change Your Life http://www.stephanietolan.com/change_your_story.htm
- 2000 The Problem of Pain http://www.stephanietolan.com/problem_of_pain.htm
- 2000 Spirituality and the Highly Gifted Adolescent http://www.stephanietolan.com/spirituality.htm
- 1999 Self-Knowledge, Self-Esteem and the Gifted Adult http://www.stephanietolan.com/self-knowledge.htm
- 1999 Dabrowski's Over-excitabilities: A Layman's Explanation http://www.stephanietolan.com/dabrowskis.htm
- 1996 Is it a Cheetah http://www.stephanietolan.com/is_it_a_cheetah.htm
- 1990 Helping Your Highly Gifted Child http://www.stephanietolan.com/helping.htm
- 1985 Stuck in Another Dimensions: The Exceptionally Gifted Child in School http://www.stephanietolan.com/another_dimension.htm
