DIPUCCHIO, Kelly

Personal

Born March 7, in Warren, MI; daughter of Ronald and Lorraine; married; husband's name John; children: Laurel, Nick, Hannah. Education: Graduated from Michigan State University.

Addresses

Agent— c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Children's, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. E-mail— Kelly@kellydipucchio.com.

Career

Writer.

Writings

Bed Hogs, illustrated by Howard Fine, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2004.

Liberty's Journey, illustrated by Richard Egielski, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2004.

Dinosnores, illustrated by Ponder Goembel, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Mrs. McBloom, Clean up Your Classroom!, illustrated by Guy Francis, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2005.

What's the Magic Word?, illustrated by Martha Winborn, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Work in Progress

Sipping Spiders through a Straw, illustrated by Gris Grimly, for Scholastic; Monster Makeovers, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, for Hyperion.

Sidelights

As she quipped on her Web site, like many writers-to-be, Michigan-born children's author Kelly DiPucchio was "born with a silver pen in my hand." While the author quickly admits the exaggeration of that claim, she did grow up with a passion for writing and reading. Although she studied other subjects during her college years, while raising her own three children DiPucchio rediscovered her love of writing and has gone on to begin a book-writing career that includes Liberty's Journey and What's the Magic Word?, as well as the humorously titled picture books Bed Hogs and Dinosnores.

In Liberty's Journey the majestic Statue of Liberty decides to taste freedom and revisit the many immigrants who passed by her on their way through Ellis Island to make a new start in America. Leaving her platform in New York Harbor, Lady Liberty travels throughout the country, eventually ending up in San Francisco. While she is gone, New Yorkers begin to miss their symbolic statue and concoct a plan to lure her back home, their task made easier due to Lady Liberty's own longing for home. While Karin Snelson, writing in Booklist, criticized DiPucchio's singsong verse as being somewhat "uninventive," she nonetheless concluded that "the fanciful notion of the statue coming to life and tromping around America like a lost giant will no doubt appeal to readers." A Kirkus Reviews critic wrote that "Elementary-school teachers will find lots of uses" for Liberty's Journey in "lessons in history, geography, math, and creative writing."

In the quirky Bed Hogs Little Runt, a young, loud-mouthed piglet, manages to edge his five fellow family members—even Mama and Papa Pig—from their shared pile-of-straw bed. Praising the illustrations by Howard Fine, a Kirkus Reviews critic called the book "a good start for the author" and a "hilarious work." Equally enthusiastic, Carolyn Janssen wrote in School Library Journal that with its "lilting verse," DiPucchio's story is "a prize pick for storytimes" and will "tickle young readers."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 2004, Karin Snelson, review of Liberty's Journey, p. 247.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004, review of Bed Hogs, p. 328; August 15, 2004, review of Liberty's Journey, p. 805; April 1, 2005, review of Dinosnores.

Publishers Weekly, July 19, 2004, review of Liberty's Journey, p. 160.

School Library Journal, May, 2004, Carolyn Janssen, review of Bed Hogs, p. 109; November, 2004, Jane Barrer, review of Liberty's Journey, p. 97; May, 2005, Lisa Gangemi Kropp, review of What's the Magic Word?

ONLINE

Kelly PiPucchio Web site, http://www.kellydipucchio.com (February 27, 2005).