Karen Hesse author page

Karen Hesse biography

Karen Hesse is an American writer of children’s literature and young adult literature, often using historical settings in her fiction. Her books include Out of the Dust, The Music of Dolphins, Aleutian Sparrow, Stowaway and Witness.

Out of the Dust is a novel set during the Depression and written in stanza form. The book won the 1998 John Newbery Medal and was published by Scholastic.

Hesse has written numerous books for young people, including The Cats in Krasinski Square and Letters from Rifka. Out of the Dust also won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

In 2002, Hesse received a MacArthur Fellows Grant. Her picture book Night Job was written by Karen Hesse, illustrated by G. Brian Karas and published by Candlewick Press.