Baumbich, Charlene Ann 1945-

PERSONAL:

Born 1945; married; husband's name George (an engineer): children: Bret, Brian.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Glenn Ellyn, IL. E-mail—charlene@dontmissyourlife.com; charlene@welcometopartonville.com.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

Don't Miss Your Kids: (They'll Be Gone before You Know It), InterVarsity Press (Downers Grove, IL), 1991.

How to Eat Humble Pie & Not Get Indigestion, InterVarsity Press (Downers Grove, IL), 1993.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This: But She Never Said Just How Many, Vine Books/Servant Publications (Ann Arbor, MI), 1995.

The 12 Dazes of Christmas & One Holy Night, InterVarsity Press (Downers Grove, IL), 1996.

The Book of Duh, Harold Shaw Publishers (Wheaton, IL), 1997.

365 Ways to Connect with Your Kids: No Matter What Their Age (or Yours), Career Press (Franklin Lakes, NJ), 2001.

Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!, Guideposts (Carmel, NY), 2002.

Dearest Dorothy, Help! I've Lost Myself!, Penguin Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, Penguin (New York, NY), 2004.

Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Ever Thought?, Penguin Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything!, Penguin Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Dearest Dorothy, If Not Now, When?, Penguin Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Today's Christian Woman.

SIDELIGHTS:

The author of numerous nonfiction works of inspiration and humor, Charlene Ann Baumbich is best known for her "Dearest Dorothy" series. Set in Partonville, IL, these books feature the spunky senior citizen Dorothy Wetstra and her group of eclectic friends and the adventures and misadventures they experience in the fictional small town. As Baumbich explained to Bookreporter.com contributor Cindy Crosby, "Although there was a REAL Dearest Dorothy in my life (lots of her spunk in my Partonville Dorothy), the Dorothy character (and her band of merry oldster friends) is a conglomerate of a lifetime of folks I've observed and been connected to in one way or another." Not your typical older person, Dorothy likes to drive fast and pray hard. The debut title in the series, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!, describes Dorothy's move from her birthplace to Partonville and how she finds a part in the life of that sleepy hamlet. In Dearest Dorothy, Help! I've Lost Myself!, the eighty-seven-year-old helps a new arrival to the town adjust, even as Partonville prepares to celebrate its 130th anniversary. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly praised the character of Dorothy—"a spitfire with a heart of gold"—and further noted that the writing is inspirational "without hammering readers over the head with God." Similarly, Crosby concluded, "Baumbich's chatty, conversational writing, soft faith themes, and the endearing relationships between the characters will continue to hook readers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, August 23, 2004, review of Dearest Dorothy, Help! I've Lost Myself!, p. S16.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (August 26, 2007), Cindy Crosby, interview with Charlene Ann Baumbich and review of Dearest Dorothy, Help! I've Lost Myself!.

Charlene Ann Baumbich Home Page,http://www.dontmissyourlife.com (August 26, 2007).

InterVarsity Press Web site,http://www.intervarsitypress.com/ (August 26, 2007), "About the Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich."