ELAINE LANDAU BIOGRAPHY I BOOKS I PRESENTATIONS I BOOK ORDERING
A highly acclaimed author of over 200 books for young people, Ms. Landau has written on such subjects as Wild West legends, earth science, holidays, the supernatural, planets, dinosaurs, firefighting, ancient civilizations, ecology, and a broad range of contemporary issues. Her recent books include Popcorn, Annie Oakley-Wild West Sharpshooter, Osama bin Laden-A War Against the West, Slave Narratives, Heroine of the Titanic; The Real Unsinkable Molly Brown and Smokejumpers.
Other books by Elaine Landau are Scary Sharks, Killer Bees, John F. Kennedy, Jr., The 2000 Presidential Election, The New Nuclear Reality, Date Violence, and The Civil Rights Movement.
Children's Literature has said of her book, Smokejumpers: "Landau, author of numerous nonfiction books, has done it again. Her new book grabs the attention of the reader and introduces them to the dangerous yet exciting career of smokejumpers."
Of her book Osama bin Laden; A War Against the West, Booklist wrote: "Landau, who is known for her solid research, applies her considerable talents here." Newsweek Magazine recently cited Elaine Landau's book, The Statue of Liberty, as "a standout for kids."
Many of Ms. Landau's titles have been included on some prestigious awards lists and have also received a number of honors: ALA/YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, International Reading Association's Children's Choice and IRA Young Adult Choice, NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies, NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children, Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year, Society of School Librarians International Book Award, Honor Book, Social Studies and Honor Book, Science, The New York Public Library's Books for the Teenage, New Jersey Institute of Technology Awards, Science Books & Film's Best Children's Science Books as well as Best Books for Junior High and High School Readers, Booklist's Top Ten Biographies for Youth, the Center for Children's Books: Best Book List, Los Angeles' 100 Best Books, VOYA's Nonfiction Honor List, and a number of School Library Journal starred book reviews. Her books have also won a number of state awards. Corn, for example, won a 2000 Ohio Farm Bureau Award for Children's Literature. In May 2008, Big Cats was among the Children's Book Council's first-ever Children's Choice Book Award winners --- it won in the third-to-fourth grade category.
Elaine Landau feels she was born to write. When her mother was about to birth to her, a fortuneteller at a country fair told her that she was going to have a daughter who would be a writer. This did not delight Mrs. Landau's mother. She was hoping for a boy who'd become a doctor or lawyer. Nevertheless, the fortuneteller was right.
Today Elaine Landau spends much of her time writing and loving it. The only thing she enjoys more is visiting schools and libraries to share her feelings about the process with others. Her enthusiastic, high-energy performances have been a hit with young people of all ages.
Ms. Landau lives in tropical Miami with her husband, Norman, and her son, Michael. She usually writes under a palm tree alongside her swimming pool but also spends a good deal of time traveling while doing research for her books. She once went to Scotland to write a book on the Loch Ness Monster and has been to nearly every state for various other projects. |
Elaine
Landau is unique in that she writes for young people from first
grade right through high school and equally enjoys speaking to
her readers at all these different grade levels.