Peni R. Griffin

Born in Harlingen, Texas, being an Air Force brat, Peni subsequently lived Alaska, Iowa, and Maryland. She attended both Trinity University and the University of Texas.

She settled in San Antonio in 1979. She's not a famous author yet, but she is a full-time one now. She's been writing professionally since 1986 and has 12 books with major publishers, as well as numerous short publications.

11,000 Years Lost; by Peni Griffin, Amulet Books, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 336 pages ISBN-10: 0810948222 ISBN-13: 978-0810948228

Esther Aragones is 11 years old and 11,000 years lost in Pleistocene Texas. Adopted by hunter-gatherers, she has to learn a new language and a new way of living while trying to find a way home. At times it seems her mere presence triggers conflict in a group that must cooperate to survive. If she can't pull her own weight, will she be left behind? How can she make herself useful when she doesn't even know what food looks like? What magic brought her here, and how can she make it take her back? Will she die before she's ever born?

Paperback, Publisher: Amulet Books (April 1, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0810992515 ISBN 13: 0-8109-4822-2

Editorial Review
From Booklist: Along with sheer adventure, Griffin works in a touch of mysticism and an appreciation for the natural world. An occasional jarring anachronism in the dialogue notwithstanding, the characterizations are convincing, the dangers seem real, and the author's research is evident. The result is an exciting peek into the distant past. Sally Estes Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The Music Thief; Henry Holt and Company, 2002. ISBN: 0-8050-7055-9. by Peni Griffin Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 190 pages Publisher: Thorndike Press; (August 2, 2003)

ISBN-10: 0786256060 ISBN-13: 978-0786256068

Alma's life basically stinks. Her beloved Abuela is dead. Her favorite singer was killed in a drive-by shooting. Her brother is a gangster wannabe. Her mother works two jobs. Her big sister, her brother-in-law, and her baby niece are all living at home while her brother-in-law goes to school. Home is always noisy and nothing ever goes well. Next door, though, Mrs. B has the world's best sound system, musical instruments and books about learning to use them, and friendly cats who show Alma how she can get in while Mrs. B's away without breaking anything. It's not wrong to go over there if she doesn't take anything - is it?

Editorial Review
From School Library Journal ...This is a realistic novel that doesn't provide pat resolution. Instead, it leaves readers earnestly wishing that Alma can find and stay on the right track. Her rite of passage will ring true for many young people. A good choice for those looking for a novel with fully realized contemporary issues. Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Ghost Sitter; by Peni Griffin, Dutton Children's Books, 2001. Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 128 pages

ISBN-10: 0525466762 ISBN-13: 978-0525466765

Penguin USA, 2002; Scholastic, Inc., 2004.
ISBN-10: 0613538153 ISBN-13: 978-0613538152

The story of two ten-year-old girls -- one of whom has been ten for fifty years. Susie only knows that she can't leave, and that everyone but animals and small children ignore her. Charlotte, the newest girl to move into Susie's old room without asking, feels sorry for her -- but how do you befriend a ghost? Even if she is a big help with the babysitting?

Marqo's House; by Peni Griffin Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon and Schuster.
Fall 1996. Reading level: Young Adult School & Library Binding: 122 pages

Something mysterious is going on with the dolls and dollhouse Margo's father made for her before his heart attack. Margo sends her soul into a doll's body to learn the truth, and help him if she can.

Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal Even secondary characters are well developed and have unique personalities. Dialogue is used frequently and effectively, and the interchanges between Butch and Sis are both humorous and typical. The author creates a fantasy world so naturally that readers are drawn into it and willingly suspend disbelief. They will have little difficulty accepting either the situation or the surprising ending. A fast-moving, well-plotted, memorable novel. Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Vikki Vanishes; by Peni Griffin Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon and Schuster.
Spring, 1995 Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; 1st edition (May 30, 1995)

ISBN-10: 0689800282 ISBN-13: 978-0689800283

Vikki, the good girl whom everyone loves, disappears. Nikki, her little sister, knows what happened to her -- but everyone knows Nikki is a liar, so how can she persuade them to look in the right place?

From Booklist ....the story,... turns into a well-plotted, tension-mounting survival story with a satisfying conclusion. Anne O'Malley

The Maze; by Peni Griffin Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon and Schuster. Fall
1994. Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 128 pages

ISBN-10: 0689506244 ISBN-13: 978-0689506246

Caroline and her new brother Hector get sucked into a magic picture, populated by vicious mermaids, clever
sphinxes, the improbable Thigama Bob, and other deadly monsters, whom they must outwit in order to get home.

From School Library Journal ... The premise of the book is solid, .... The story is plot driven... This title should find favor where there is high demand for fantasy at this level. Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

OTHER PENI GRIFFIN TITLES

*The Brick House Burglars;* Margaret K. McElderry Books, Macmillan. Spring 1994. ISBN: 0-689-50579-5 Four girls adopt the empty "Brick House" as their secret headquarters; but someone is trying to burn it down.	*Treasure Bird*; Margaret K. McElderry Books, Macmillan. Fall 1992. Edgar Award nominee, 1993. Junior Library Guild edition, 1993. Third hardcover printing. Fall 1994. Puffin Books, Penguin USA, 1994. ISBNs: 0-689-50554-X, 0-14-036653-9 Jessy and her stepbrother Matt think they can find long-lost treasure with the help of Great-Uncle Matthew's parrot Goldie.
*Hobkin*; Margaret K. McElderry Books, Macmillan. Junior Library Guild edition, 1992. Puffin Books, Penguin USA, 1993. ISBN 0-689-50539-6 Two girls run away and set up housekeeping in an abandoned house in West Texas -- but something already lives there...	*A Dig in Time;* Margaret K. McElderry Books, Macmillan. Spring 1991. Puffin Books, Penguin USA,1992. ISBNs: 0-689-50525-6, 978-0140360011 Nan and Tim discover a method of traveling back in time, which enables them to attend their own parents' wedding, and to rescue their infant grandmother from drowning.
*Switching Well;* Margaret K. McElderry Books, Macmillan. Spring 1993. Finalist for Best Western Juvenile Fiction, Golden Spur Awards, 1993. Sixth hardcover printing. Spring 1995. Puffin Books, Penguin USA, 1994. Italian translation, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1995. ISBNs: 0-689-50581-7; 0-14-036910-4 Ada Bauer, a 13-year old in 1891, wishes she could go forward a hundred years, to a time when women can vote and all humanity's problems have been solved. Amber Burak, a 13-year-old in 1991, wishes she could go back a hundred years, to a time when parents never get divorced and humanity's problems haven't been invented yet. And they both just happen to find a magic well...
*Otto from Otherwhere;* Margaret K. McElderry Books, Macmillan. Spring, 1990. Bullseye Books, Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. ISBNs: 0-689-50500-0, 0-679-81571-6 A boy gets lost in a fog and wanders into a new and alien world -- San Antonio.

The most important thing that happens during an author visit is that the kids get a look at an author as a real person. Too often, the creator lurks behind the book, anonymous and "other," not someone the child could ever aspire to be. It's not easy for a child whose only first-hand view of adult life is of people working away at nine-to-five jobs to imagine herself putting non- nine-to-five talents to work. They think that not having a job means getting rich as a performer -- a singer, actor, athlete, or politician. Having a writer or artist talk to a class can open their eyes to other options, and to the possibilities inherent in their own talents. After all, if an ultra-ordinary lumpy little white woman like me can be published and read in libraries all over the country, anyone who wants it badly enough can!

When I do a school visit or assembly, I consider the needs of the children and of the school. For instance:

At the San Benito Festival in 2007, I returned to the area of my birth and participated in their annual celebration of literature, with a special emphasis on children's literature. I talked a little bit about all my books, with particular emphasis on The Ghost Sitter, ghost stories, and the relationship between truth, fiction, and folklore. I also sang the worms song.

At the Northeastern Missouri University Children's Literature Festival, 2003, I contrasted the process of writing The Music Thief, a story which essentially threw itself at my head and forced me to write it, and The Ghost Sitter, which started with the academic desire to write a ghost story and do something atypical and essentially "realistic," and ended with my rewriting the ending five times, crying every time.

At the West Texas Book and Author Festival 2002, I talked, along with another author, about history in children's literature: how it works, why it works, and where you get the good stuff.

At the Solomon Schechter Academy of Dallas, in 2002, I led the fourth graders through a participatory presentation on Where Ideas Come From, starting from scratch (flipping a coin to decide the sex of the protagonist), and ending with the saga of Fred the Mutant Dog. For the fifth and sixth graders, I talked about The Ghost Sitter and the ghost story as a genre, in fiction and non-fiction.

For the Fort Bend Independent School District in 1995, I was asked to talk to middle school students who had read Switching Well in class. Since my visit coincided with their being assigned their first research papers, I used my experience with Well to explain How to Do Research, which is more fun than most kids assume!

At the Miami Bookfair in 1994, I spoke to two auditoriums-full of elementary and middle school students about What It's Like to Be a Writer. I explained why I do it, how hard the work is, and also how much fun.

Peni will do four presentations per day of forty to fifty minutes each, with a break for lunch between 11:00 and 12:30, and including time for answering questions and autographing sessions, if desired. She will be happy to negotiate prices on shorter days, longer presentations, or other variations. Bear in mind, however, that a day Peni goes to a school is a day on which she will not get any writing done, because school visits are exhausting. She really can't leave town for less than $750 a day plus travel and lodging expenses.

Peni R. Griffin
1123 W. Magnolia Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78201

Phone (210) 737-6003