McDonough, Alison 1948-

PERSONAL:

Born February 3, 1948, in Boston, MA; daughter of Eamon Emmet (a librarian) and Phoebe (a library worker and homemaker) McDonough; married Charles Michael Stephens (an information technology professional); children: Kate Mara, Daniel (deceased), Matthew Eamon, Rachel Elizabeth, Anna Brigid. Education: Hofstra University, B.A., 1969. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Langhorne, PA. E-mail—amcdonough84@yahoo.com.

CAREER:

Bucks County Library, Langhorne, PA, worked as children's and reference librarian; also worked as market researcher and day-care teacher.

WRITINGS:

Do the Hokey Pokey (juvenile), illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic, Cricket Books (Chicago, IL), 2001.

Author of children's plays. Contributor to magazines.

SIDELIGHTS:

Alison McDonough told CA: "I have always wanted to be a writer, even though it took me a long time to get serious about it and even longer to be published. My favorite authors as a kid included Eleanor Estes, Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, and Beverly Cleary. There were many more.

"I want to write and have written for kids just learning to read, elementary-aged kids, middle-schoolers, and adults. The only kind of book I haven't tried to write is a picture book. That's too bad, because I think I have the best job for a picture book editor. I read stories to preschoolers, and I can see what they like and what they don't. I hope to keep writing and working in a library for as long as I can."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2001, Lauren Peterson, review of Do the Hokey Pokey, p. 1469.

School Library Journal, May, 2001, Kate McLean, review of Do the Hokey Pokey, p. 129.