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Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is an award-winning American children's and young adult fiction author. A long-time professional in the literary world, she is best known for her widely acclaimed Alice series. Her books have sold nearly thirty million copies and have been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

Naylor's work is recognized for positive values, relatability to younger reading audiences, and directness of discourse. Her books address themes such as family, death and loss, friendship, and faith in an emotionally honest and gentle way. She received the Newbery Medal for her now-classic Shiloh series, and other honors include the National especially for her book Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War, which recounts the story of the wartime segregation of zoo animals in Japan to emphasize the fragility and interconnectedness of the natural world.

In 2017, Naylor was honored with the United States 1985 National Book Award for Children's Literature for The Agony of Alice. A self-professed romantic, she has written multiple novels for adults as well as over eight autobiographical works. Many of her books for middle grade readers feature characters from the fictional town of Calverton, including the Alice series, the Granny series, and the popular Waters Meet and Love stories.

Naylor's books have been optioned for multiple stage and screen treatments. The 2004 television movie adaptation of Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season starred Ashley Judd and Scott Wilson and won numerous awards, and the 2003 Broadway musical based on A String of Blue Beads: A Love Story, which was also adapted as a film of the same name in 2001, was nominated for three Tony awards.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has held multiple positions on boards and committees for ALA, SCBWI, and ICA-Children's Media. And in 2008, she was named the first-ever children's book author to receive an establish Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Awards. Even though she has retired from full-time writing, she continues to write occasional books and guest lecture and serves as an inspiration to countless readers and authors of any age.

Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana in 1933, and her family moved around the Midwest several times before settling in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor's degree in English Education from West Virginia University and a Master's in Library Science from the University of Denver. After college, she taught elementary and high school and worked as a librarian in several different places before becoming a full-time author.

Bibliography

• Yearling Fiction (1978)
• Witch's Sister (1980)
• Shiloh (1991)
• Mermaids to Order (1984)
• Alice on the Outside (1985)
• The Galloping Goat and Other Stories (1986)
• Warryn and Minerva (1987)
• The Keeper (1990)
• Carlotta's Kittens (1992)
• The Prince of Venice Beach (1993)
• The House of the Four Winds (1994)
• Promises to Keep (1995)
• Night Cry (1996)
• Delaney's Desert Road (1997)
• Wisteria (1998)
• The Witch Returns (1999)
• A Journey to the River Sea (2000)
• Short Stories Collection (2001)
• The Meadowbrook Girls Through the Ages (2002)
• Being Teddy Roosevelt (2003)
• Lost in the City (2004)
• Saving Shiloh (2006)
• Monster Manners (2007)
• To Dance with the White Dog (2008)
• Newbs: The Scotty Story (2009)
• Jabberwocky (2011)
• Shadow (2012)
• Runon (2013)
• Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear (2014)
• My Kind of Dogs (2015)
• The Winning Stables (2016)
• Bubble Trouble (2017)
• Letting Go and Learning to Live (2018)
• A Time Gone By (2019)
• Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede (2020)