Cynthia Voigt

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Cynthia Voigt (born February 25, 1942 in Boston , Massachusetts ) is an American writer for young people.

life and work

Cynthia Voigt grew up in Connecticut , where she attended Dana Hall School. In 1963 she graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts. She then taught in Santa Fe , New Mexico , and later taught English at high schools in Glen Burie and Annapolis , Maryland . She started writing in 1981 and later gave up teaching altogether. Cynthia Voigt lives on the Deer Isles, Maine , with her husband and two children .

In addition to individual, independent novels , she created three chronologies :

  • The series The Kingdom , consisting of four books, takes place in a fictional kingdom. The personal stories of the individual characters fit into a medieval political environment and usually have the main character's rebellion against the family or the system as their theme.
  • The Tillerman cycle tells of the upbringing of the four Tillerman children who were abandoned by their mother and who are initially left to fend for themselves before they come to live with their grandmother. Some volumes are also about friends of the Tillermans.
  • The third Bad Girls chronology revolves around two girls who make their school unsafe. Only the first volume in this series has so far been published in German.

Meaning and awards

Cynthia Voigt's work is characterized by a wide range of thought-provoking topics and also addresses difficult topics such as racism and child abuse . Also in the Kingdom series, which can be assigned to the fantasy genre, aspects such as social injustice and the value of idealism and friendship are addressed in a way that is appealing and understandable for young people.

Her first book Heimwärts was nominated for several international awards and was made into a film in 1996 for American television. Cynthia Voigt also won the following awards:

bibliography

Tillerman cycle

  • Homeward. ( Homecoming , 1981)
  • We Tillermans are like that. ( Dicey's Song , 1982)
  • M for Melody. The story of Jeff, Dicey Tillerman's friend. ( A Solitary Blue , 1983)
  • Samuel Tillerman, the runner. ( The Runner , 1985)
  • Mina, Dicey Tillerman's friend. ( Come a Stranger , 1986)
  • The father's shadow. James and Sammy Tillerman. ( Sons from Afar , 1987)
  • Dicey Tillerman. Ties. ( Seventeen Against the Dealer , 1989)

Kingdom cycle

  • Under the mask Jackaroo. ( Jackaroo , 1985)
  • On the wheel of fortune. ( On Fortune's Wheel , 1990)
  • In the shadow of the hawk. ( The Wings of a Falcon , 1993)
  • Elske. The Queen's confidante. ( Elske , 1999)

Bad girls

  • Bad Girls ( Bad Girls , 1996)
  • Bad, Badder, Baddest (1997)
  • It's Not Easy Being Bad! (2000)
  • Bad Girls in Love (2002)
  • From Bad To Worse (2003)
  • Bad Girls, Bad Girls, Whatcha Gonna Do? (2006)

Other books

  • Tell Me If the Lovers Are Losers (1982)
  • The Callender Papers (1983)
  • Stone by stone. ( Building Blocks , 1984)
  • Friends and friends. ( Izzy, Willy-Nilly , 1986)
  • My island is mine. ( Tree by Leaf , 1988)
  • Glass Mountain (1991)
  • Can ivy sneeze? ( The Vandemark Mummy , 1991)
  • Orfe ( A retelling of the Orpheus myth , 1992)
  • David and Jonathan (1993)
  • No! ( When She Hollers , 1994)

literature

  • Suzanne Reid: Presenting Cynthia Voigt (Biography)
  • Klaus Schadewinkel: Cynthia Voigt: "Homeward." One book for young people, two opinions. In: BUB Forum Bibliothek und Information 38 (1986), p. 886

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Voigt, Cynthia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author of children's books
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts