Laurie Ann Thompson is an American writer. She is known for her children's books and books for young adults. Thompson is a winner of one of the 2016 Schneider Family Book Awards for her book, Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, which was illustrated by Sean Qualls.

Laurie Ann Thompson
OccupationAuthor
Genreyoung adult
Website
lauriethompson.com

Writing edit

The Washington Post highlighted Thompson's book, Be A Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters (2014) as a good book to help raise activist children.[1] The book is written for young adults who want to change things in their world through entrepreneurship or charity.[2] Library Media Connection recommended it for library collections.[3] Booklist wrote that it was "a thorough and passionate manual for empowered readers to pursue their dreams of making the world a better place."[4] Kirkus Review felt that one criticism of the book was that it did not have enough "media-rich" resources for digital discovery of information.[5]

Thompson's book, My Dog Is the Best, and illustrated by Paul Schmid, is a picture book for young readers. Booklist wrote "the simplicity of both the words and the pictures creates a charming, toddler-sized ode to man's best friend."[6] School Library Journal wrote that, "While this is a familiar story, it's a well-executed and charming one."[7]

Thompson wrote Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah (2015) after she saw a documentary about Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah's one-legged bike journey across Ghana.[8] This book, illustrated by Sean Qualls, won a 2016 Schneider Family Book Award in the youngest age group category.[9] Horn Book Magazine wrote "The text is simple, well paced and clearly written."[10] Thompson included an author's note at the end of the book that tells the reader more about Yeboah's activism for people with disabilities.[11] School Library Journal called it "powerful and winning."[12]

The Huffington Post wrote that Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive! (2017), written with Ammi-Joan Paquette, was a "highly entertaining way to learn that truth is stranger than fiction and that crafty fiction can lead you down a garden path."[13] The book is inspired by a game, Two Truths and a Lie, and is designed to help readers think critically and has a "brief but savvy guide to responsible research methods," according to Booklist.[14] School Library Journal compared the idea to Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, and called the book "a fun and potentially useful curricular tool for teachers and librarians."[15] The next book in the Two Truths and Lie series, Histories and Mysteries (2018) was also favorably reviewed by Booklist.[16]

Selected bibliography edit

  • Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2014. ISBN 9781582704647.
  • My Dog Is the Best. illustrated by Paul Schmid. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. 2015. ISBN 9780374300517.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. illustrated by Sean Qualls. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. 2015. ISBN 9780449817469.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive!. written with Ammi-Joan Paquette. New York: Walden Pond Press. 2017. ISBN 9780062418791.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries. written with Ammi-Joan Paquette. New York: Walden Pond Press. 2018. ISBN 9780062418869.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

References edit

  1. ^ Allard, Jody (10 March 2017). "Perspective | The best books for raising activist kids". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  2. ^ Prince, Jennifer (November 2014). "Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters". School Library Journal. 60 (11): 138 – via EBSCOhost.
  3. ^ Garry, Candi Pierce (January 2015). "Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters". Library Media Connection. 33 (4): 76 – via EBSCOhost.
  4. ^ Smith, Julia (October 2014). "Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters". Booklist. 111 (3): 44 – via EBSCOhost.
  5. ^ "Be a Changemaker". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  6. ^ Mazza, April (June 2015). "My Dog Is the Best". Booklist. 111 (19/20): 122 – via EBSCOhost.
  7. ^ Dar, Mahnaz (March 2015). "My Dog Is the Best". School Library Journal. 61 (3): 128 – via EBSCOhost.
  8. ^ Wilkens, John (24 October 2015). "A new ride for Emmanuel Yeboah". San Diego Tribune. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  9. ^ Heasley, Shaun (2016-01-25). "Children's Books Honored For Portraying Disability Experience". Disability Scoop. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  10. ^ Parravano, Martha V. (March 2015). "Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah". Horn Book Magazine. 91 (2): 126–127 – via EBSCOhost.
  11. ^ Hunter, Sarah (February 2015). "Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah". Booklist. 111 (12): 72 – via EBSCOhost.
  12. ^ Diman, Kathryn (March 2015). "Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah". School Library Journal. 61 (3): 174 – via EBSCOhost.
  13. ^ Cobb, Vicki (2017-06-05). "How To Be a Skeptical Reader". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  14. ^ Peters, John (May 2017). "Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive!". Booklist. 113 (17): 65 – via EBSCOhost.
  15. ^ O'Malley, Ragan (May 2017). "Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive!". School Library Journal. 63: 122 – via EBSCOhost.
  16. ^ Peters, John (March 2018). "Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries". Booklist. 114 (13): 42 – via EBSCOhost.

External links edit