Erika Tamar

Background

Erika Tamar was born on June 10, 1934, in Vienna, Austria. She is a daughter of Julius Tamar, a physician, and Pauline Tamar. She came to the United States, when she was four years old with her brother, Henry.

Education

Erika Tamar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the New York University — Washington Square College (now The New York University). She graduated from TV/Film Institute at the Stanford University.

Career

From 1982 to 2004 Erika Tamar was a freelance writer. She was a production assistant/casting director for Search for Tomorrow television serial at the Leo Burnett Company, Inc. in New York City. Tamar was also an actress and director at the Play Troupe of Port Washington, Long Island, a community theater.

Achievements

• Erika Tamar is best known as the award-winning author of twenty one books for children, including The Junkyard Dog, winner of the California Young Reader Medal and the Virginia Young Readers Award, and The Midnight Train Home, winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for best juvenile fiction. She was nominated for numerous awards.

Works

More photos

• book

  • It Happened at Cecilia's

    (Ninth-grader Andy's relatively stable life with his fathe...)

    1989
  • Good-Bye, Glamour Girl

    (Liesl, a young Jewish refugee who yearns to be glamorous ...)

    1984
  • The Things I Did Last Summer

    (During his summer vacation, seventeen-year-old Andy falls...)

    1994
  • The Truth About Kim O'Hara

    (When his girlfriend, Kim O'Hara, a lovely Asian-American ...)

    1992
  • High Cheekbones

    (When fourteen-year-old Alice Lonner is discovered by a mo...)

    1990
  • Fair Game

    (A sordid incident on a humid spring afternoon in the affl...)

    1993
  • My Ex-Best Friend

    (Realizing that her best friend, Jody, is thwarting her at...)

    1998
  • Blues for Silk Garcia

    (A fifteen-year-old girl tries to learn about her estrange...)

    1983
  • The Midnight Train Home

    (A heartwarming story of a young girl’s search for a famil...)

    2000
  • Donnatalee

    (On a stifling summer day in the city, Kate’s family trave...)

    1998
  • Venus and the Comets

    (Nine-year-old Venus Macquire is ready to trade smiling fo...)

    2003
  • The Garden of Happiness

    (A littered lot in New York’s Alphabet City is transformed...)

    1996
  • Out of Control

    (A talented singer's love turns to obsession when he start...)

    1991
  • Alphabet City Ballet

    (Marisol has always loved to dance - to the salsa at famil...)

    1996
  • The Junkyard Dog

    (When Katie sees the shivering, emaciated dog locked in th...)

    1995
  • Katherine's Story

    (Katherine is the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. She d...)

    2004
  • Rose's Story

    (Katherine is the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. She d...)

    2004
  • Lizabeth's Story

    (Katherine is the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. She d...)

    2004
  • Amanda's Story

    (Katherine is the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. She d...)

    2004
  • Soccer Mania!

    (Illus in black and white. Pete and his friends love to pl...)

    1993

Politics

Erika Tamar can sometimes share views of Democratic party, but mostly independent.

Membership

Erika Tamar is a member of the Authors Guild, of the PEN, and of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Personality

Erika tamar likes visual and performing arts, especially jazz and photography, taking painting classes, volunteering at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Interests

• jazz, photography, painting, volunteering

Connections

Erika Tamar is divorced. She has three children: Ray, Monica, Michael.

Father:

Julius Tamar

Mother:

Pauline Tamar

Son:

Ray Tamar

Daughter:

Monica Tamar

Son:

Michael Tamar

Brother:

Henry Tamar

References

• Contemporary Authors
  1998