Kate DiCamillo
In 2004, The Tale of Despereaux earned Kate DiCamillo the Newbery Medal, one of the most significant honors in American children's literature. It was a notable moment for a writer who had built her career producing fiction for younger readers, and it turned out not to be the last time she'd receive that particular award.
DiCamillo was born on March 15, 1964, in the Philadelphia area — Merion Station, Pennsylvania specifically. She went on to study at the University of Florida and has worked as a novelist, children's writer, and young adult author, producing books in English. Among her notable works are Because of Winn-Dixie, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Tale of Despereaux, and Flora & Ulysses.
The Tale of Despereaux brought DiCamillo her first Newbery Medal. She later received a second when Flora & Ulysses was awarded the same prize, placing her among a small number of authors to have won the Newbery more than once. Because of Winn-Dixie and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane round out the four works the facts identify as particularly notable in her body of writing.
That second Newbery win, for Flora & Ulysses, stands as a concrete marker of how DiCamillo's work has been received by the institutions that evaluate children's literature in the United States. Two Newbery Medals represent a documented and specific record of recognition for a writer born in the Philadelphia area who has devoted her career to fiction for younger and young adult readers.
Quotes by Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo's insights on:
Farewell is a word that,in any language, is full of sorrow. It is a word that promises absolutely nothing.
Normally, Edward would have found intrusive, clingy behavior of this sort very annoying, but there was something about Sarah Ruth. He wanted to take care of her. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to do more for her.
![There's nothing more fabulous than an adult saying to you, "I think that you might like this one [book]." So I'm grateful every time that happens. It's an amazing thing that people care that passionately.](https://lakl0ama8n6qbptj.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/quotes/quote-4022628.png)
There's nothing more fabulous than an adult saying to you, "I think that you might like this one [book]." So I'm grateful every time that happens. It's an amazing thing that people care that passionately.
There can be a lot of longevity in the repetition of things being told again and again in a variety of ways.
When I was starting to write, I was fascinated with 'Knuffle Bunny' by Mo Willems. I remember taking it home and typing it out, trying to figure out how it worked. It's just a classic, with dauntingly few words.
From a cognitive standpoint, I'm very aware that you have no room for error in a picture book. Every word counts.
There's this amplification that happens anytime you tell a story. You let it go out into the world. It's the most beautiful thing. All I can do is look at it in wonder and amazement.
I can never tell if anything I do is really good. I'm always just slightly chagrined.
Progress is hard to measure in any creative endeavor, I think. It's often a matter of instinct, of feeling your way through what works and what doesn't.
I find that when I write for children, I am more hopeful, less cynical. I don't use different words or a different sentence structure. I just hope more.