Kate DiCamillo
Author of Because of Winn-Dixie
About the Author
Kate DiCamillo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 25, 1964. She received an English degree from the University of Florida. At the age of thirty, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and worked for a book warehouse on the children's floor. After working there for four and a half years, show more she fell in love with children's books and began writing. DiCamillo wrote the 2001 Newbery-honor book, Because of Winn-Dixie, which was adapted into a film in 2005. In 2004, she won the Newbery Medal for The Tale of Despereaux, which was also adapted into a movie in 2008, and for Flora and Ulysses in 2013. Her other works include the Mercy Watson series, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and The Magician's Elephant. She was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress for the term 2014-2015. Kate's title, Raymie Nightingale, mde the New York Times bestseller list in 2016. show less
Series
Works by Kate DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (2003) 17,555 copies, 577 reviews
3 More Adventures on Deckawoo Drive: 3 Books in 1 (Tales from Mercy Watson's Deckawoo Drive) (2024) 7 copies
Mercy Watson 4 copies
Mercy Watson Thinks Like A Pig 2 copies
Leroy Ninker saddles up 1 copy
Завдяки Вінн-Діксі 1 copy
The Beatrice Prophacy 1 copy
Bởi Vì Winn-Dixie 1 copy
Dzielny Despero 1 copy
Great Joy 1 copy
Tygrys się budzi 1 copy
Books 1 copy
Příběh o Zoufálkovi, aneb, Vyprávění o myšákovi, princezně, troše polévky a špulce niti (2007) 1 copy
Stories About Friendship: Bink & Gollie / Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend / The Ant & the Grasshopper: Library Edition (2014) 1 copy
X-Acto 1 copy
Tale of Dexpereaux, The 1 copy
Associated Works
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales (2011) — Contributor — 977 copies, 48 reviews
The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection (2018) — Contributor — 114 copies, 3 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- DiCamillo, Katrina Elizabeth
- Birthdate
- 1964-03-25
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Florida (English)
- Occupations
- writer
author
novelist - Awards and honors
- National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (2014-2015)
- Short biography
- Kate DiCamillo's writing journey has been a truly remarkable one. She grew up in Florida and moved to Minnesota in her twenties, when homesickness and a bitter winter led her to write Because of Winn-Dixie -- her first published novel, which became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. The Tiger Rising, her second novel, was also set in Florida and went on to become a National Book Award finalist. Since then, the best-selling author has explored settings as varied as a medieval castle and a magician's theater while continuing to enjoy great success, winning two Newbery Medals and being named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. She now has almost 30 million books in print worldwide.
Now, for the first time ever, Kate DiCamillo is returning to the world of a previous novel to tell us more about a character whom her fans already know and love. In Louisiana's Way Home, set two years after the events of National Book Award finalist Raymie Nightingale, she picks up the story of Raymie's friend Louisiana Elefante, who uncovers difficult truths about her past -- and makes choices that will determine her future.
Kate DiCamillo's books' themes of hope and belief amid impossible circumstances and their messages of shared humanity and connectedness have resonated with readers of all ages around the world. In her instant #1 New York Times bestseller The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a haughty china rabbit undergoes a profound transformation after finding himself face down on the ocean floor -- lost and waiting to be found. The Tale of Despereaux -- the Newbery Medal-winning novel that later inspired an animated adventure from Universal Pictures -- stars a tiny mouse with exceptionally large ears who is driven by love to become an unlikely hero. The Magician's Elephant, an acclaimed and exquisitely paced fable, dares to ask the question What if? And Kate DiCamillo's second Newbery Medal winner, Flora & Ulysses, was released in 2013 to great acclaim, garnering five starred reviews and an instant spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
Born in Philadelphia but raised in the South, Kate DiCamillo now lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Places of residence
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Clermont, Florida, USA
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - Map Location
- USA
Members
Reviews
Baby Lincoln, the gentle, kindhearted, much-put-upon younger sister of the overbearing Eugenia Lincoln, who appears, together with her sister, as a secondary character in Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson chapter-book series, here gets an adventure of her own. Waking one day with the conviction that she must take a 'necessary journey,' Baby packs her bag, leaves home, and takes a train to Fluxom, the furthest stop she can afford. Along the way she learns the importance of reading the comics show more (something Eugenia discourages), eating jelly beans, and using her own storytelling skills. But although she enjoys this temporary freedom from her elder sister, she also finds herself missing Eugenia, and recalling the ways that she was cared for by this thorny elder sibling...
Like its predecessors in the Tales of Deckawoo Drive series, Leroy Ninker Saddles Up and Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon, Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? features secondary Mercy Watson characters as central protagonists, exploring the relationship of the Lincoln sisters in unexpectedly poignant ways. I didn't think it was possible to have a more positive view of Eugenia Lincoln, the crank of Deckawoo Drive, who regularly makes herself nasty about Mercy's exploits, but DiCamillo demonstrates that she has a softer, albeit well-hidden side. This collection of chapter-books is a step up, in terms of reading level, from the Mercy Watson books, and is a great reading project for children who have gone through those books and are looking for something more challenging. I'm not sure if DiCamillo plans to write any more of these, but if she does, I will certainly seek them out! show less
Like its predecessors in the Tales of Deckawoo Drive series, Leroy Ninker Saddles Up and Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon, Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? features secondary Mercy Watson characters as central protagonists, exploring the relationship of the Lincoln sisters in unexpectedly poignant ways. I didn't think it was possible to have a more positive view of Eugenia Lincoln, the crank of Deckawoo Drive, who regularly makes herself nasty about Mercy's exploits, but DiCamillo demonstrates that she has a softer, albeit well-hidden side. This collection of chapter-books is a step up, in terms of reading level, from the Mercy Watson books, and is a great reading project for children who have gone through those books and are looking for something more challenging. I'm not sure if DiCamillo plans to write any more of these, but if she does, I will certainly seek them out! show less
'Porcine wonder' Mercy Watson, whose story began in Mercy Watson to the Rescue, returns in this second chapter-book adventure. Although Mercy enjoys her weekly convertible trips with Mr. Watson, she longs to be the one driving, and when Mr. Watson is distracted by their unexpected stowaway (Baby Lincoln from next door), she sees her chance. Unfortunately for Mercy, her attempt to drive comes just as the convertible is being tailed by Officer Tomilello...
Like its predecessor, Mercy Watson show more Goes for a Ride is an amusing tale sure to please children who are just getting started with chapter-books. Mercy is a headstrong heroine, one with whom many willful young children will identify, and her (mis)adventures make for entertaining reading. This is a gentle world, in which the biggest 'adversary,' in the form of the disapproving Eugenia Lincoln, is usually conquered with plenty of buttered toast. The accompanying artwork, done in gouache by Chris Van Dusen, is vibrantly colorful and adds to the sense of madcap fun. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first Mercy Watson book, and to young readers who enjoy somewhat silly stories with a great sense of humor. show less
Like its predecessor, Mercy Watson show more Goes for a Ride is an amusing tale sure to please children who are just getting started with chapter-books. Mercy is a headstrong heroine, one with whom many willful young children will identify, and her (mis)adventures make for entertaining reading. This is a gentle world, in which the biggest 'adversary,' in the form of the disapproving Eugenia Lincoln, is usually conquered with plenty of buttered toast. The accompanying artwork, done in gouache by Chris Van Dusen, is vibrantly colorful and adds to the sense of madcap fun. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first Mercy Watson book, and to young readers who enjoy somewhat silly stories with a great sense of humor. show less
Однажды бабушка Пелегрина подарила внучке Абилин удивительного игрушечного кролика по имени Эдвард Тюлейн. Его сделали из тончайшего фарфора, у него был целый гардероб изысканных шелковых костюмчиков и даже золотые часы на цепочке. Абилин обожала своего кролика, show more целовала его, наряжала и каждое утро заводила его часики. А кролик никого, кроме себя, не любил. Как-то Абилин вместе с родителями отправилась в морское путешествие, и кролик Эдвард, упав за борт, оказался на самом дне океана. Старый рыбак выловил его и принес жене. Потом кролик попадал в руки разных людей - добрых и злых, благородных и коварных. На долю Эдварда выпало множество испытаний, но чем труднее ему приходилось, тем скорее оттаивало его черствое сердце: он учился отвечать любовью на любовь. show less
My 25 cents
I picked up an almost untouched copy of this book for an incredible mere 25 cents at a local thrift store. I read it in a couple of hours while it rained this Friday evening. It always seems to rain on Labor Day weekend here. I remember reading Charlotte's Web to my two girls on another Labor Day, long time ago, a late afternoon when it rained and the electricity went out so I remember reading it aloud to them by the gray light coming in through the window.
I confess, after reading show more a few chapters today, I was pretty attached to Winn-Dixie. I skipped to the last couple of pages. Just to make sure the dog didn't die. I, too, had a dog named Dixie (just Dixie) who I still think of often. I named her after my dad's favorite dog he had when we lived on the farm when I was a kid. A farm hand ran over that Dixie with a tractor, an accident that didn't seem possible. My dad never liked that guy, not before nor after. My Dixie, luckily, died of old age but that was hard, too. When I think of her, I always first think of her during her infirmity, confirming to myself that yes, it was her time. Then I can go on to think of her as young, energetic, happy faced with one lazy ear, and how that was the time of "me and Dixie."
Some books are like that, aren't they? They get mixed and stirred in with a bunch of other things in our life at the time we're reading them: the weather, the time of year, the people and animals who were with us. This time, decades after that other Labor Day weekend with my girls, it was just me silently reading with my two dogs, Elvie and Fizz, who I reached down to pet frequently. And it was raining.
I've never spent a quarter so well. show less
I picked up an almost untouched copy of this book for an incredible mere 25 cents at a local thrift store. I read it in a couple of hours while it rained this Friday evening. It always seems to rain on Labor Day weekend here. I remember reading Charlotte's Web to my two girls on another Labor Day, long time ago, a late afternoon when it rained and the electricity went out so I remember reading it aloud to them by the gray light coming in through the window.
I confess, after reading show more a few chapters today, I was pretty attached to Winn-Dixie. I skipped to the last couple of pages. Just to make sure the dog didn't die. I, too, had a dog named Dixie (just Dixie) who I still think of often. I named her after my dad's favorite dog he had when we lived on the farm when I was a kid. A farm hand ran over that Dixie with a tractor, an accident that didn't seem possible. My dad never liked that guy, not before nor after. My Dixie, luckily, died of old age but that was hard, too. When I think of her, I always first think of her during her infirmity, confirming to myself that yes, it was her time. Then I can go on to think of her as young, energetic, happy faced with one lazy ear, and how that was the time of "me and Dixie."
Some books are like that, aren't they? They get mixed and stirred in with a bunch of other things in our life at the time we're reading them: the weather, the time of year, the people and animals who were with us. This time, decades after that other Labor Day weekend with my girls, it was just me silently reading with my two dogs, Elvie and Fizz, who I reached down to pet frequently. And it was raining.
I've never spent a quarter so well. show less
Lists
Childhood books (1)
Best Dog Stories (1)
Female Author (1)
mom (1)
Princess Tales (1)
Elementary Reads (1)
Five in a Row (1)
KID BOOKS (2)
4th Grade Books (2)
Newbery Adjacent (2)
Christmas Books (1)
Sonlight Books (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Books About Boys (1)
Ryan's Books (1)
Allie's Wishlist (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 108
- Also by
- 12
- Members
- 89,048
- Popularity
- #115
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 2,760
- ISBNs
- 1,030
- Languages
- 22
- Favorited
- 70
