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Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Washington Children's Book Guild.

FOR CHILDREN

Mary Downing Hahn (born December 9, 1937) is an American writer of young adult novels and a former school librarian. She is known for books such as Stepping On The Cracks and Wait Till Helen Comes. Mary Downing Hahn is an American author of children’s and young adult novels, spanning genres including historical, contemporary and fantasy, and is best known for her ghost stories and mysteries. She is also formerly a school librarian. Mary’s book have sold over 2 million copies and have consistently won children’s choice awards. Get the best deals on mary downing hahn books when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Free shipping on many items Browse your favorite brands affordable prices.

The Sara Summer, Clarion (Boston, MA), 1979.

The Time of the Witch, Clarion (New York, NY), 1982.

Mary Downing Hahn's novels include the beloved ghost stories Wait Till Helen Comes and All the Lovely Bad Ones. She lives in Columbia, Maryland. Scott Peterson wrote the graphic novel Truckus Maximus. Mary Downing Hahn, best known for being a Young Adult Author, was born in College Park, MD on Thursday, December 9, 1937. Young adult fiction writer whose numerous novels include The Sara Summer, Stepping On The Cracks, Wait Till Helen Comes and The Doll in the Garden.

Mary Downing Hahn

Daphne's Book, Clarion (New York, NY), 1983.

The Jellyfish Season, Clarion (New York, NY), 1985.

Wait till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story, Clarion (New York, NY), 1986.

Tallahassee Higgins, Clarion (New York, NY), 1987.

December Stillness, Clarion (New York, NY), 1988.

Following the Mystery Man, Clarion (New York, NY), 1988.

The Doll in the Garden, Clarion (New York, NY), 1989.

The Dead Man in Indian Creek, Clarion (New York, NY), 1990.

The Spanish Kidnapping Disaster, Clarion (New York, NY), 1991.

Stepping on the Cracks, Clarion (New York, NY), 1991.

The Wind Blows Backward (young adult), Clarion (New York, NY), 1993.

Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story, Clarion (New York, NY), 1994.

Look for Me by Moonlight, Clarion (New York, NY), 1995.

The Gentleman Outlaw and Me—Eli: A Story of the OldWest, Clarion (New York, NY), 1996.

Following My Own Footsteps, Clarion (New York, NY), 1996.

As Ever, Gordy, Clarion (New York, NY), 1998. Can i download a youtube video to my mac.

Anna All Year Round, illustrated by Diane de Groat, Clarion (New York, NY), 1999.

Promises to the Dead, Clarion (New York, NY), 2000.

Anna on the Farm, illustrated by Diane de Groat, Clarion (New York, NY), 2001.

Hear the Wind Blow, Clarion (New York, NY), 2003.

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story, Clarion (New York, NY), 2004.

Janey and the Famous Author, Clarion (New York, NY), 2005.

Witch Trap, Clarion (New York, NY), 2006.

Hahn's books have been translated into Danish, Swedish, Italian, German, Japanese, and French. Contributor to anthologies, including Don't Give up the Ghost, 1993, Bruce Coville's Book of Ghost Stories, 1994, and Bruce Coville's Book of Nightmares, 1995.

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Brief BiographiesBiographies: Bob Graham (1942-) Biography - Awards to Francis Hendy Biography - Born to Sew

Awake at Midnight welcomes Mary Downing Hahn, author of more than twenty books for children and an Edgar Award winner for Closed for the Season in 2010, (as well as the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction for Stepping on the Cracks, and countless others). Her ghost stories are classics recognized on every Halloween reading list. She joins us today to discuss her latest publication, Took and writing scary stories for kids!

Awake at Midnight:
Your latest publication, Took, is a bit more frightening than many of your ghostly tales; there isn’t any question of whether the conjure woman is imaginary or misunderstood– she is real and filled with malice. She takes a child and there is nothing her brother or her parents or the entire town can do about it. Were you worried that some of the imagery might be too scary for elementary school children? How do you tell when it’s time to dial down the intensity?

Mary Downing Hahn:
Usually the story tells itself and I write it down as it comes to me. Every now and then, I pause and ask myself if the story is too dark or too frightening. I actually worry about the images my mind produces, but I think today’s kids aren’t as easily frightened as the kids of my generation. For instance, I doubt today’s seven year old would be so scared watching Walt Disney’s Snow White that she’d crawl under her seat in the movie theater (as I did) to hide from the witch. The point that I won’t go beyond is violence and bloodshed– the spattered brains and guts genre, as I call it. In other words, the witch is real but I’m not going to allow her to kill anyone.

Bloody Bones is a staple of back-woods American folklore from the Appalachian Mountain region. How did that legend inspire the story?

Sometimes I’m not really sure why a character enters a story. It’s as if Raw Head and Bloody Bones simply stepped out of the woods and joined the witch. I let him stay — she needed a companion to share her dark thoughts and plans.

Rawhead and Bloody Bones
Steals naughty children from their homes,
Takes them to his dirty den,
And they are never seen again.

Did reading scary stories as a kid influence your becoming a writer of so many supernatural novels? What stories do you remember that stick with you?

When I was a kid, I was a classic scaredy-cat, terrified of the long-armed witch under my bed, the wolf behind the door, and the monster creeping up the steps. I liked happy family stories (e.g. the Moffat series), heroic dog stories beginning with Lassie, Come Home, which I read five times when I was ten or eleven, adventure stories like Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, and Kidnapped, orphan stories like The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables. I read with a love and passion for books which I still have today. My friends and I often acted out what we read and sometimes got in trouble — we loved mischief, in books and in real life.
The story that frightened me the most when I was still too young to read was “Hansel and Gretel”, which was included in a collection of stories put together by Watty Piper. I’d let my mother begin reading, but as soon as the children found the wicked witch’s cottage, I made her stop. It wasn’t until I was old enough to read the story myself that I learned it had a happy ending for Hansel and Gretel but not for the witch. I like to think knowing how to read gave me power over the story. I could go on or stop whenever I liked.

Were there certain books or authors that influenced you as a writer?

I’m sure it’s a cliché, but I’d have to say Catcher in the Rye was a major influence. I read it for the first time when I was sixteen. A friend of mine came running up to me, waving the book and screaming, “You have to read this, Mary, it’s the best book I’ve ever read!” And it was. For the first time, I met a character who thought, acted and talked like a teenager. Holden Caulfield was real life. I knew him like I knew myself. By the time I was in college and taking creative writing courses, I wanted to be the J.D. Salinger of my generation.
You might think it odd that I refer to Salinger who never had any truck with ghosts as far as I know, but I’ve written many non-ghost stories. In both ghost and non-ghost stories, I strive for Salinger’s easy flow of realistic dialogue. Note I say strive. He’s not an easy act to follow.

Your titles always warn readers when they are “A Ghost Story”. It adds a great touch, like the beginning of Lights Out or a William Castle movie when they urged the faint of heart to leave or turn off their radios now, while also making a promise to readers. Ho

Mary Downing Hahn&#39;s Haunting Tales PDF Free Download

Mary Downing Hahn's Haunting Tales PDF Free Download