Children's Author Paula Danziger Dies at 59
By Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2004
Paula Danziger, who rocketed into the ranks of popular authors for children and teens with her first book, The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (Delacorte, 1974), died July 8 from complications of a heart attack. She was 59.
After several years of teaching, mostly at the junior high level, Danziger temporarily lost the ability to write when she was injured in a car accident. It was during her recovery that she started writing children's books. Her stories, usually told in a flip, sarcastic voice, endeared her works to thousands of young readers. Other popular Danziger titles for fifth through eighth graders include Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice? (1979) and It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World (1985, both Delacorte). She also wrote the popular Amber Brown series for first through fourth graders, which began with Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon (1994); the most recently published book was Amber Brown Is Green With Envy (2003, both Putnam). Two more books published by Putnam are due for a posthumous release—Barfburger Baby, I Was Here First, in September, and Orange You Glad It's Halloween, Amber Brown, in the summer of 2005.
Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Metuchen, NJ, the flamboyant Danziger frequently entertained fans by autographing her books in reverse.
