WAX, Wendy A. 1963-

PERSONAL:

Born October 9, 1963, in Detroit, MI; daughter of Harvey (an attorney) and Laney (a program director at Naropa University) Wax; married Jon Holderer (a commercial photographer), December 12, 1999; children: Jonah. Education: University of Michigan, B.F.A. (graphic design).

ADDRESSES:

Home—322 East 55th St., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—wendyawax@yahoo.com.

CAREER:

Novelist, graphic artist, and author of children's books.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Artist of the Month, Grey Advertising, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Seven Days and Seven Nights, Bantam (New York, NY), 2003.

FOR CHILDREN

(With Della Rowland) Ten Things I Know about Kangaroos, illustrated by Thomas Payne, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1989.

(With Della Rowland) Ten Things I Know about Penguins, illustrated by Thomas Payne, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1989.

Inside the Aquarium, illustrated by Joe Murray, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1989.

(With Della Rowland) Ten Things I Know about Elephants, illustrated by Thomas Payne, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1990.

(With Della Rowland) Ten Things I Know about Whales, illustrated by Thomas Payne, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1989.

(Compiler) A Treasury of Christmas Carols, Poems, and Games to Share, Dell (New York, NY), 1992.

Say No and Know Why: Kids Learn about Drugs, photographs by Toby McAfee, Walker (New York, NY), 1992.

(Compiler) Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah!: A Treasury of Stories, Songs, and Games to Share, illustrated by John Speirs, Bantam (New York, NY), 1993.

(Adaptor) Tom and Jerry: Friends to the End, Turner (Atlanta, GA), 1993.

The Hungry Bunny, McClanahan Book Company (New York, NY), 1996.

Molly's Loose Tooth, McClanahan Book Company (New York, NY), 1996.

Home, Sweep Home, HarperActive (New York, NY), 1998.

Do You See What I See?, HarperActive (New York, NY), 1998.

Passport to Paris (novelization of Mary-Kate and Ashley television series), Parachute Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Empire Dreams, illustrated by Todd Doney, Silver Moon Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Watch out, Otto!, illustrated by Pilar Newton-Mitchell, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Bus to Booville, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2003.

A Very Mice Christmas, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Picture Day, Penguin (New York, NY), 2003.

You Can't Scare Me!, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2003.

A Valentine for Tommy, illustrated by Robert Roper, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

The Runaway Turkey, illustrated by Larissa Marantz and Shannon Bergman, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

A Time to Climb, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

Too Many Turners, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

Reggie's Secret Admirer, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

Practice Makes Perfect, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

The Night before Easter, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Mitzi and Muffletump, for Penguin.

SIDELIGHTS:

Prolific children's author Wendy A. Wax, who has written several picture books, penned stories based on assorted television programs, and produced two holiday anthologies, has such titles as Empire Dreams, Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah!, and A Very Mice Christmas to her credit. In 2003 Wax successfully made her romantic comedy debut with the adult novel Seven Days and Seven Nights.

Described as "Entertaining, lively, and engaging" by Denise Hoover in a review for Booklist, Seven Days and Seven Nights tells the story of two competing Atlanta radio hosts caught in their own trap. After it is made obvious to management that psychologist Dr. Olivia Moore and all-around-guy Matt Ransom are no longer able to work under the same roof, a competition is devised that studio execs hope will not only improve ratings, but will also determine which host will continue their job at the station. Cooped up in a tiny apartment together for a week, and under twenty-four-hour-a-day Web-cam surveillance, Moore and Ransom struggle to stand their ground and win audience votes. However, beneath their tough exteriors—and unknown by either coworkers or viewers—the pair are also united in trying to keep their past love affair a secret. "Wax's first romantic comedy is a witty, battle-of-the-sexes tale," commented Kristin Ramsdell in Library Journal, while a reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote that Wax's "debut comedy puts a clever spin on an age-old formula." While the conclusion to Seven Days and Seven Nights was found to be somewhat predictable by critics, most agreed that this fact does not detract from the novel's well-crafted, classically romantic storyline.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 15, 1993, James Jeske, review of

Say No and Know Why: Kids Learn about Drugs, p. 905; June 1, 2003, Denise Hoover, review of Seven Days and Seven Nights, p. 1754.

Entertainment Weekly, December 17, 1993, Jessica Shaw, review of Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah!, p. 79.

Library Journal, May 15, 2003, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Seven Days and Seven Nights, p. 74.

Publishers Weekly, August 11, 1989, review of Ten Things I Know about Penguins and Ten Things I Know about Kangaroos, p. 455; April 21, 2003, review of Seven Days and Seven Nights, p. 44.

School Library Journal, December, 1989, Ellen Dibener, review of Inside the Aquarium, p. 97; March, 1990, J. J. Votapka, review of Ten Things I Know about Penguins and TenThingsIKnow about Kangaroos, p. 215; August, 1990, Ruth M. McConnell, review of Ten Things I Know about Whales and Ten Things I Know about Elephants, p. 144; October, 1992, Denise L. Moll, review of Say No and Know Why, p. 139; March, 2001, Carolyn Janssen, review of Empire Dreams, p. 258; October, 2003, Susan Patron, review of A Very Mice Christmas, p. 69.*