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Mary Jane Auch

Author of The Princess and the Pizza

40 Works 4,538 Members 133 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

As a child, Mary Jane Auch loved books and read constantly. Her interest in drawing began as a child and continued through high school. She went on to become an art major at Skidmore College. After graduation, Auch went for New York City, but after a year of designing prints for men's pajamas, she show more decided she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. She enrolled in the Occupational Therapy program at Columbia University, and worked for some years in a children's hospital near Hartford, Connecticut. Eventually, Auch began illustrating for Pennywhistle Press, a national children's newspaper, which led to an interest in illustrating children's books. In the summer of 1984, Auch took a week-long children's writing conference on Cape Cod. Auch finally knew that she wanted to a writer when an instructor told her that sometimes artists find they can paint better pictures with words. She began sending manuscripts to publishers, writing four novels before she sold the first one. She then sold a second book to another publisher the same week. She continued writing books for older kids, abandoning her dream of illustrating for a while. After writing nine books, she wrote and illustrated The Easter Egg Farm, and has done both ever since. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Works by Mary Jane Auch

The Princess and the Pizza (2002) 650 copies
Ashes of Roses (2002) 478 copies
I Was a Third Grade Spy (2001) 384 copies
The Plot Chickens (2009) 329 copies
One-Handed Catch (2006) 318 copies
Journey to Nowhere (1997) 295 copies
Frozen Summer (1998) 234 copies
Peeping Beauty (1993) 190 copies
The Easter Egg Farm (1992) 154 copies
Souperchicken (2003) 154 copies
Wing Nut (2005) 107 copies
A Dog on His Own (2008) 89 copies
Chickerella (2005) 85 copies
One Plus One Equals Blue (2013) 74 copies
Poultrygeist (2003) 74 copies
Bantam of the Opera (1997) 73 copies
Hen Lake (1995) 52 copies
Guitar Boy (2010) 46 copies
The Nutquacker (1999) 44 copies
The Latchkey Dog (1994) 44 copies
Kidnapping Kevin Kowalski (1990) 38 copies
Eggs Mark the Spot (1996) 37 copies
The Road to Home (2000) 36 copies
The Buk Buk Buk Festival (2015) 22 copies
Mom Is Dating Weird Wayne (1988) 19 copies
Pick of the Litter (1988) 19 copies
Noah's Aardvark (1999) 18 copies
Monster Brother (1994) 12 copies
Cry Uncle! (1987) 11 copies
A Sudden Change of Family (1990) 9 copies
Bird Dogs Can't Fly (1993) 8 copies
Out of Step (1992) 7 copies

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Members

Reviews

 
Flagged
BooksInMirror | 23 other reviews | Feb 19, 2024 |
It is 1946. The war is over, and there will be fireworks on the 4th of July. Norm Schmidt’s friend, Leo, buys some from his cousin and is excited to set them off. He invites Norm to join him. Norm decides to go, but knows that he needs to stay away from Leo and the rockets. He doesn’t trust Leo and doesn’t want to risk being blown up by a runaway firework. Norm needn’t have worried. He never got to celebrate that year. During the afternoon, Norm’s dad, a butcher, sends him to chop more meat. When a chunk of gristle gets stuck in the grinder, Norm tries to move it through with the plugger. That doesn’t work so Norm grabs the end of the meat and pulls. Before he can react, his hand disappears into the grinder. Unfortunately, Norm loses his left hand. Now, his aspirations for playing baseball seem completely out of reach. He can't even tie his own shoes! Norm's mother expects him to overcome his handicap. She asks him to take out the garbage the first night out of the hospital and makes him resume his duties in the family's butcher shop. She tells all of his teachers not to cater to him. At first, Norm is angry at her because he would like to take the easy road and use his handicap as an excuse. But, he soon learns that she is right. He begins to figure out ways that he can do normal things with one hand and a stump. He practices catching and throwing a baseball with his right hand and batting. Progress is slow at first, but he soon makes good progress. Maybe, he will be able to make the baseball team in the spring after all.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
… (more)
 
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kathymariemax | 12 other reviews | Feb 5, 2024 |
(4.5 / 5)

Another book I remember from childhood, I read this again recently so I could discuss it with my daughter. We both enjoyed the antics that the kids get up to in the book and like the friendship displayed. While it certainly isn't easy for Ryan and Mooch to know how to act around their friend who has some brain damage from a bike accident, I appreciate the narrator, Ryan, in his attempts to learn how to be the friend Kevin needs. There is a moment in the story when a group of older kids are hanging out in the woods near where our main characters are camping, and it gets a little risque, but not graphic. Still, it gave me pause, as I knew my 12-year-old daughter had read the scene as well, and she did say it got a little uncomfortable for her too. Other than that, though, I enjoyed the book, as did my daughter.… (more)
 
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Kristi_D | 1 other review | Sep 22, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
40
Members
4,538
Popularity
#5,534
Rating
½ 3.8
Reviews
133
ISBNs
177
Languages
5
Favorited
1

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