Johanna Hurwitz

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are there any interesting facts about you.

How many books have you published and how long have you been writing ?

What is your favorite book to read?

1) Are you in any of your stories?

Of course. Authors are always in their books. Sometimes I write about myself (Gerry Flam in ONCE I WAS A PLUM TREE; Cricket in TEACHER'S PET and the other books in the CLASS CLOWN series; the mother in BASEBALL FEVER and Nora and Teddy's mom in THE RIVERSIDE KIDS) and sometimes I write about the way I would or should have reacted had I been in the situation in which I've placed my characters.

2) Do you have a favorite among your books or characters?

That's much too hard to answer. It's not unlike you asking your parents who is their favorite child in your family. Each child is different and each is special in their own way. That's how I feel about my books and characters. No two are the same, even when they are in the same series. Each book is the result of hard work on my part and in the end, I'm proud of my accomplishment. I can't select a single title or person as my favorite. However, it's quite possible that my readers will like one book more than the others. That fine. (Let me know which one it is.)

3) How many books do you plan to write?

I think that's like asking a baseball player how many home runs they plan to hit. I don't have a specific goal, but like the baseball player who wants to hit as many home runs as he can, I want to write an many books as possible. Maybe one of those future books will be your favorite.

4) Have your books won any awards?

My books have been the winners of the Children's Choice award in nine states. Children in Texas, Wyoming, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, New Mexico and New Jersey (two times)voted for books of mine as their favorite. In addition, my books have been honored as ALA Notable Books, Parents Choice Award, Junior Library Guild, Weekly Reader Book Club, and National Christian Schools Award. Also, as a result of my writing, I was made an honorary citizen of Topeka, Kansas.

5) What were your favorite books when you were young?

HEIDI by Johanna Spyri I loved the fact that we shared the same first name and there it was on the cover of a book.
THE LITTLE HOUSE BOOKS by Laura Ingalls Wilder
THE BETSY-TACY BOOKS by Maud Hart Lovelace

6) What is your favorite color?

Blue-green. Sometimes it's called turquoise.

7) What is your favorite food?

Anything made with cheese: lasagna, pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, feta cheese omelet, cheese cake, etc.

8) What is your favorite sound?

My husband, children or grandchildren laughing.

9) Do you have any pets? What are their names?

Despite my stories, I don't have a dog (THE LAW OF GRAVITY, ONE SMALL DOG), guinea pig (PEEWEE'S TALE), bird (THE HOT & COLD SUMMER, AMAZING MONTY)or a llama (A LLAMA IN THE FAMILY, LLAMA IN THE LIBRARY). However over the years I have owned several cats. Currently I own a large black male with green eyes. He is named Ollie.

10) If you were an animal what would you like to be?

A duck so I could both swim and fly.

11) If you could meet a story book character, who would it be?

Babar the Elephant. I've loved him since we were first introduced when I was a child.

12) How old are you?

I'm too old to tell and too young to brag about my age.



Is there anything else that you'd like to find out about me?

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