Kate DiCamillo

Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo was born on March 25, 1964, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Betty Lee DiCamillo (), a teacher, and Adolph Louis DiCamillo, an orthodontist. DiCamillo is the sister of Curt DiCamillo, an architectural historian. She had chronic pneumonia as a child and was often hospitalized. In hopes of helping her sickness, the family moved to the warmer climate of Clermont, Florida, when Kate was five. Her father remained in Philadelphia with his business, but visited on occasion. Although he originally planned to move with the family after selling his practice, this never happened. In a 2023 profile in The New Yorker by Casey Cep, DiCamillo talked about the physical and emotional abuse her father inflicted on the family before their move to Florida. DiCamillo enjoyed reading as a child and often visited the local library. She has said her mother sparked her love for books. DiCamillo also often turned to reading when she was particularly sick with pneumonia and unable to do much else. She wanted to be a veterinarian until she was around ten. She was educated at public schools in the area beginning with Clermont Elementary, before entering Rollins College. DiCamillo left Rollins and worked for a time at Walt Disney World before briefly attending the University of Central Florida. She eventually entered the University of Florida, Gainesville, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1987. == Early career ==

DiCamillo then worked various entry-level jobs in Clermont, including at Circus World, Walt Disney World, a campground, and a greenhouse. She said of her life during this time that she thought she was a talented writer and expected it to be quickly recognized so she "sat around for the next seven or eight years". DiCamillo moved to Minneapolis in 1994, following a close friend, and after several jobs was hired to work at The Bookman, a book warehouse and distributor, as a picker, eventually in the children's book section, She began writing regularly while working at the warehouse, waking up before her shifts on weekdays to write. After four years in Minnesota, DiCamillo met the author Louise Erdrich, who encouraged her. She was also encouraged by the author Jane Resh Thomas. By the turn of the 21st century, despite her efforts, DiCamillo had published only several short stories aimed at adults. == Writing career and recognition ==

DiCamillo had published 25 books as of 2018. As of 2021, almost 37 million copies of her books were in print. In 2019, Mpls St Paul Magazine called her "Minnesota's most successful writer". and a Newbery Honor. Her second book, The Tiger Rising, was published the next year. It was also well received by critics, who noted stylistic differences between it and Because of Winn-Dixie. DiCamillo won the Newbery Medal in 2004 for her third book, The Tale of Despereaux. She said her 2006 book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane'', which is about a china rabbit, was very easy to write. DiCamillo's 2010 novel Bink & Gollie, co-written with Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile, won the 2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal. Her 2013 novel Flora & Ulysses was partially inspired by an injured squirrel she saw. It won the Newbery Medal in 2014, making her one of six writers to win two Newberys since the award was created in 1920. a post she held from January 2014 to December 2015. Upon taking that role, she used the theme "Stories Connect Us". In the summers of 2015 and 2016, DiCamillo led the Collaborative Summer Library Program's summer reading campaign as the summer reading champion. Her 2016 book Raymie Nightingale, about three young girls competing in a competition who end as friends, did not feel complete, and two years later DiCamillo wrote a sequel, ''Louisiana's Way Home. In 2019 she published Beverly, Right Here, completing a trilogy. In The New York Times the author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley wrote that Beverly, Right Here'' "may be her finest [book] yet". In 2019 she received the Regina Medal in recognition of her writing. DiCamillo's 2019 picture book La La La uses just one word: "la". Minnesota Governor Tim Walz named March 29, 2020, Kate DiCamillo Day. DiCamillo's novel The Beatryce Prophecy was begun in 2009, rediscovered in 2018, and published in 2021. Awards DiCamillo has received several awards for her books. == Adaptations ==

DiCamillo's books have been adapted into films and stage productions. Because of Winn-Dixie became a 2005 film of the same name. The Tale of Despereaux was developed into a 2008 animated film. In 2020, Netflix began production on an animated film based on ''The Magician's Elephant. In 2021, Walt Disney Pictures released the film Flora & Ulysses as a streaming film on Disney+. The film The Tiger Rising'' was released in 2022. DiCamillo co-wrote the Winn-Dixie screenplay and did some early consulting on The Tale of Despereaux, but was comparatively less involved. She has said that she enjoyed both adaptations. In 2017, the Minnesota Opera announced that it was going to adapt The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane into an opera. The company postponed its scheduled opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A recording has been released. ''The Magician's Elephant'' was adapted into a musical that premiered in Stratford-upon-Avon by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2021. Although the opening was postponed due to COVID-19, the Royal Society Shakespeare Company scheduled a reopening for October 14. Featured films • Because of Winn-Dixie – February 18, 2005 • The Tale of Despereaux – December 19, 2008 • Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures – February 19, 2021 • The Tiger Rising – January 21, 2022 • ''The Magician's Elephant'' – March 17, 2023 == Analysis ==

DiCamillo's style is often similar to children's literature from the Victorian or Edwardian eras. Homesickness and hope are frequent themes. commonly the absence or loss of parents. The author Julie Schumacher said that "a sense of abandonment [...] pervades everything she has written." According to the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, DiCamillo's works often begin with young protagonists who are "puzzled, wanting, and waiting" but conclude that they must handle matters on their own. A New York Times article noted that she has written stories in many different genres. She told the National Endowment for the Arts that her books were "the same story, over and over in many ways" with the same themes repeating. DiCamillo has said that she doesn't know how to "develop a character" but she discovers them "and follow[s] their story." Her novels often include "distinct scenes that are lightly connected". She told another interviewer that "the kid in me has never gone away" and that when she writes for children rather than adults the main difference is that she is more hopeful. Many of her books have animals as main characters, something DiCamillo has called ironic, because as a child she avoided such books. == List of works ==

Novels • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Early Reader Chapter books • Bink & Gollie series (Candlewick Press), text by DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illus. Tony Fucile • Bink & Gollie (September 2010) • Bink & Gollie: Two for One (June 2012) • Bink & Gollie: Best Friends Forever (April 2013) • Mercy Watson series (Candlewick Press), text by DiCamillo, illus. Chris Van Dusen • Mercy Watson to the Rescue (August 2005) • Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride (May 2006) • Mercy Watson Fights Crime (August 2006) • Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise (July 2007) • Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig (July 2008) • Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes (July 2009) • A Very Mercy Christmas (September 2022) • Tales from Deckawoo Drive series, text by DiCamillo, illus. Chris Van Dusen • Leroy Ninker Saddles Up: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume One (August 2014) • Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume Two (August 2015) • Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln?: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume Three (August 2016) • Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume Four (October 2017) • Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem, Volume Five (June 2020) • Franklin Endicott and the Third Key, Volume Six (June 2021) • Mercy Watson is Missing!, Volume Seven (December 2023) • Orris and Timble series, text by DiCamillo, illus. Carmen Mok • Orris and Timble: The Beginning (April 2024) • Orris and Timble: Lost and Found (April 2025) • Orris and Timble: Star Stories (April 2026) Picture books • • • • {{cite book |title=A Very Mercy Christmas |date=September 2022 Short stories • "Your Question for Author Here", text by DiCamillo and Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Funny Business (HarperCollins, 2010) • "The Third Floor Bedroom", in Chris Van Allsburg, et al., The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011) • "The Castle of Rose Tellin", in The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners (Vintage Books, September 2024) == References ==