Karen Hesse

1952 -

(2006 Kerlan Award)

The Kerlan Award is given "in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children's literature and in appreciation for generous donation of unique resources to the Kerlan Collection for the study of children's literature." Individuals from all areas of children's literature, including authors, illustrators, editors, publishers, and educators, are eligible for this honor.

Author

Hesse, Karen. (1998). Just Juice. (Pictures by Robert Andrew Parker). New York : Scholastic Press. INTR-FIC H587JU

Realizing that her father's lack of work has endangered her family, nine-year-old Juice decides that she must return to school and learn to read in order to help their chances of surviving and keeping their house.

Hesse, Karen. (1997). Out of the dust. New York : Scholastic Press. INTR-FIC H587o

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Hesse, Karen. (2001). Witness. New York : Scholastic Press. 811.54 H587w

A series of poems express the views of various people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920's when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to infiltrate the town.

Hesse, Karen. (2005). The young Hans Christian Andersen. (Illustrated by Erik Blegvad). New York : Scholastic Press. 921 A5442h

Hans Christian Andersen's early life inspired many of his most famous tales. The author relates Andersen's own youthful experiences to "The Ugly Duckling," "The Ice Maiden," and other stories he later created.

Author Information

Children's Literature: Karen Hesse http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/f_hesse.html (Retrieved August 28, 2007)

Kidsreads.com - Karen Hesse
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-hesse-karen.asp

Karen Hesse Teacher Resource File
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/hesse.htm

Kidspoint : Karen Hesse : Genuis at Work (by Virginia Johnson, CRRL Staff)
http://www.kidspoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=1221&column_type=author

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Updated 2/4/08