Hogg, Gary 1957–

Personal

Born March 5, 1957, in Burley, ID; son of Paul and Lu-Ann Hogg; children: Jackson, Jonah, Annie, Boone. Education: Brigham Young University, B.A. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, running, travel, riding his horse.

Addresses

Home and office—Writing Is Exciting, 1015 N. 7300 E., Huntsville, UT 84317. E-mail—info@garyhoggbooks.com.

Career

Writer. Creator and presenter of the program Writing Is Exciting!

Writings

"HAPPY HAWK GOLDEN THOUGHT" SERIES; FOR CHILDREN

I Heard of a Nerd Bird, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1992.

Sir William the Worm, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1992.

The Half-Hearted Hare, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1992.

The Lion Who Couldn't Roar, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1992.

Lizzie Learns about Lying, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1992.

Friendship in the Forest, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1992.

"SPENCER'S ADVENTURES" SERIES; FOR CHILDREN

Garbage Snooper Surprise, illustrated by Dale Kilbourn, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Hair in the Air, illustrated by Dale Kilbourn, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Stop That Eyeball!, illustrated by Dale Kilbourn, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

The Great Toilet Paper Caper, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Don't Bake That Snake!, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Let Go of That Toe!, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

Scrambled Eggs and Spider Legs, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

FOR CHILDREN

Beautiful Buehla's Day at the Zoo, illustrated by Gary R. Anderson, Little Buckaroo Books (Carson City, NV), 1993.

Look What the Cat Dragged In!, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Beautiful Buehla and the Zany Zoo Makeover, illustrated by Victoria Chess, Katherine Tegen Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Sidelights

Utah-based children's book author Gary Hogg grew up surrounded by books, thanks to his mother's passion for reading. In the fourth grade, a patient teacher encouraged Hogg to channel his wild sense of adventures into words—rather than acting them out in real life—and his writing career was born. Hogg reached his goal of being published in 1992 with I Heard of a Nerd Bird, and has continued to release humorous books such as Look What the Cat Dragged In!, Garbage Snooper Surprise, and Scrambled Eggs and Spider Legs through Nevada-based publisher Little Buckaroo Books and others. In addition to writing, Hogg fires up the enthusiasm of budding young authors in workshops and presentations throughout the United States.

Hogg's more recent books for children include Look What the Cat Dragged In!, a playful story about a cat that is forced to do chores for his human family, the Lazybones, because they are too lazy to get firewood or food for themselves! When the Lazybones decide that they want a dog too, the hardworking cat decides it has had enough; instead of coming back with a canine, puss comes back with a policeman who puts the Lazybones in jail. "Hogg gives an old-time expression a comical makeover," commented Julie Cummins in Booklist, while in School Library Journal Julie Roach praised the "bright cartoon illustrations" by Mike Wohnoutka.

Hogg once told SATA: "As a nineteen year old, I was writing one night and composed the picture book I Heard of a Nerd Bird. After writing that story, I decided that a career of creating books for children would be a dream come true. Since then, I have dedicated myself to creating funny, insightful books for young people. It took years to be able to support my family from my writing, but I never lost sight of my goal. Even when I was working at other jobs to pay the bills, I would always list my occupation as 'children's book author.'

"One of my favorite activities as an author is speaking to thousands of children each year. Over the past ten years, I have visited an average of 150 elementary schools per year. In that time I have entertained more than a million boys and girls. I feel a responsibility to help young people see that writing can be an exciting part of their lives. My school presentations focus on the creative abilities that we all possess.

"My four children are my best friends and the greatest assets to my writing. They inspire me and help me get my stories just right. For the past several years, I have been concentrating on writing 'chapter books.' I love this category of fiction and have plans for many new and funny stories for the second-, third-, and fourth-grade audience."