Jayne Pettit

Background

Jayne Pettit was born on May 23, 1932, in United States.

Education

Jayne graduated from Rowan College with Master's degree. She also studied at Susquehana University and University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Jayne Pettit’s lifelong focus has been on educating young people; first by teaching in the classroom, and then by writing books. Since 1990 she has written books directed to children and young adults, most of which are historical biographies about courageous people who have overcome tremendous odds to survive or accomplish a personal goal. Only two early works have explored other subjects - her first book, Amazing Lizards, and The Chef’s Palate Cookbook.

Following the publication of Amazing Lizards, Pettit began writing about the impact major events, historical and personal can have on people's lives. Her first book in this genre, My Name Is San Ho, tells the story of a young Vietnamese boy who witnesses the ravages of war, is separated from his mother and sent to Saigon for safety, and, years later, is reunited with her in the United States.

Pettit continues the theme of personal courage in the face of adversity as she recounts the stories of six men and women who saved Jewish people during the holocaust. A Place to Hide includes well-known rescuers such as Oskar Schindler and Miep Santrouschitz as well as unsung heroes who risked their own lives to save people they didn't know. Pettit’s honest, eye-opening accounts of a Catholic priest in Assisi who hides refugees in monasteries, and another about how the Danish people manage to evacuate eight thousand Jews, offer a glimpse into the lives of ordinary citizens during World War II. Sarah Mears, in a review for School Librarian. applauded the author's matter-of-fact approach as making the stories “all the more moving.”

A Time to Fight Back: True Stories of Wartime Resistance is a compilation of stories about courageous acts of young people from different countries during World War II. As in My Name Is San Ho, the author uses the introduction to explain events preceding the war so that readers can understand the historical context.

The stories cover a wide range of experiences in different countries, including those of two children in the “Resistance” - one who delivers contraband newspapers in Belgium and another who rescues a downed British airman in France. The most common theme, however, is survival. In addition to Elie Wiesel's recollection of life in the death camps, readers learn about a Polish girl trying to hide from the Nazis, a British child’s evacuation from London to the United States during the Blitz, and a Japanese-American girl and her family’s internment in Manzanar, a California detention camp.

The author’s next endeavors explore the lives of two remarkable people: Maya Angelou and Michelangelo. The biography of Angelou, titled Maya Angelou: Journey of the Heart, is a straightforward, compassionate account of an unsettled childhood marked by sexual abuse and victimization. Angelou's ability to overcome these obstacles is revealed in the path her journey takes, as she goes on to become an author, a poet, performer, and civil rights activist.

Achievements

• Jayne is a brilliant author and educator famous for her works. An excerpt from one title, My Name Is San Ho, was used as educational content for an enrichment program sponsored by Heath Publishing Company. Many of her works, including Amazing Lizards, have been published internationally.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Jane Goodall: Pioneer Researcher

    (A biography of the zoologist focusing on her work with th...)

  • Maya Angelou: Journey of the Heart

    (Poet, writer, activist, entertainer, professor: Maya Ange...)

  • A Time to Fight Back

    (Eight true stories of young people in World War II. Inclu...)

  • Michelangelo: Genius of the Renaissance
  • My Name Is San Ho
  • A Place to Hide/True Stories of Holocaust Rescues
  • Amazing Lizards

Connections

Jayne married Irving Pettit Jr. on September 10, 1955. They have three children: Robin Pettit Guillard, Susan Pettit McCrindle, Bruce F. Pettit.

Spouse:

Irving Pettit Jr.

Son:

Robin Pettit Guillard

Daughter:

Susan Pettit McCrindle

Son:

Bruce F. Pettit

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields: 178