Children's book author Paula Danziger died July 8 after complications from a heart attack. She was 59.
Born in 1944 in Washington, D.C., and raised in Metuchen, N.J., the author began her career as a teacher after receiving a a B.A. and M.A. in education from Montclair State College. After publishing The Cat Ate My Gymsuit in 1974, Danziger quit teaching and devoted herself to writing full time.
Danziger went on to write more than 30 children's books, including the popular Amber Brown series and the bestselling novel P.S. Longer Letter Later, which she co-wrote with Ann M. Martin (along with a sequel, Snail Mail No More). Recently, the Amber Brown books were expanded into a beginning reader series called A Is for Amber. A new title in that series, Second Grade Rules, Amber Brown, came out last month. Barfburger Baby, I Was Here First, a picture book by Danziger, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, will be published this fall by Putnam, as will a 30th-anniversary edition of The Cat Ate My Gymsuit. Orange You Glad It's Halloween, Amber Brown will be published next year.
