John Joseph Micklos, Jr.

Background

John Joseph Micklos, Jr. was born on March 15, 1956 in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, to John Joseph Senior, an engineer, and M. Shirley (Sipple) Micklos, a teacher.

Education

In 1978, Micklos received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Ohio University.

Career

From 1978 to 1984, Micklos worked as a staff writer at the International Reading Association. In 2001, he also was a writer-in-residence at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. In April 2011, he left the security of a full-time job as editor of the International Literacy Association’s Reading Today newspaper to devote more time to book writing.

John has done K-12 school visits in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, and Maine, speaking on topics ranging from poetry writing to crafting nonfiction to principles of journalism. In fall 2015 he served as the keynote speaker for Young Authors’ Day at Keystone College in Pennsylvania. He has spoken at the national conferences of the International Literacy Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as state conferences in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.

Achievements

• John Micklos, Jr. has written about 20 books, ranging from poetry books for young readers to biographies for high school students. John also contributed to National Geographic Kids’ best-selling book, 125 True Stories of Amazing Pets. In addition, he has written many books for Capstone, covering the Lewis & Clark expedition, the 1918 flu pandemic, the Challenger disaster, the Alamo, the Pony Express, the Civil War, the War of 1812, the Navy Seals, the Harlem Hellfighters, the Northeast Region, the Southeast Region, and others.
  
  Micklos received various journalistic awards from the Association of Educational Publishers, Association Trends, and the Society of National Association Publications.

Works

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  • From Thirteen Colonies to One Nation

    (Reviewing the Declaration of Independence and the Article...)

    2008
  • What Was the Revolutionary War All About?

    (Highlighting major events leading up to and during the Re...)

    2008
  • The Brave Women and Children of the American Revolution

    (Chock-full of historically accurate information for repor...)

    2008
  • Crossing the Delaware and Valley Forge: Two Wild Winters With Washington

    (Chock-full of historically accurate information for repor...)

    2008
  • African Americans and American Indians Fighting in the Revolutionary War

    (Chock-full of historically accurate information for repor...)

    2008
  • Muhammad Ali

    (That simple statement, made on April 28, 1967, changed Mu...)

    2010
  • Elvis Presley: "I Want to Entertain People"

    (A record television audience of some 60 million people wa...)

    2010
  • Why We Won the American Revolutionthrough Primary Sources

    (When the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Indep...)

    2013
  • Courageous Children and Women of the American Revolutionthrough Primary Sources

    (History remembers the leaders of the American Revolution—...)

    2013
  • Discovering the West: The Expedition of Lewis and Clark

    (Imagine being asked by the president of the United States...)

    2014
  • American Indians and African Americans of the American Revolutionthrough Primary Sources

    (When the American Revolution began, thousands of people r...)

    2013
  • Bold Riders

    (Though the Pony Express existed for less than two years, ...)

    2015
  • Jerry Spinelli: Master Teller of Teen Tales

    (Each book explores the life and work of an influential au...)

    2007
  • Leonard Nimoy: A Star's Trek

    (Examines the life of the actor who became popular as Mr. ...)

    1988
  • The Making of the United States from Thirteen Coloniesthrough Primary Sources

    (Winning the American Revolution was just the first step. ...)

    2013
  • Washington's Crossing The Delaware and The Winter at Valley Forge-Through Primary Sources

    (In the winter of 1776, the Americans looked defeated. But...)

    2013
  • An Overview of the American Revolution-Through Primary Sources

    (Shots rang out. Soldiers fell dead. On April 19, 1775, th...)

    2013
  • Unsolved: What Really Happened to Amelia Earhart? 2006

Religion

Micklos is a Protestant.

Politics

Micklos is a Democrat.

Views

Along with an interest in poetry, Micklos has also had a longstanding interest in writing nonfiction, especially biographies and books about historical topics. He's recently had the opportunity to explore this area, doing juvenile biographies on Alexander Graham Bell, Amelia Earhart, and Jerry Spinelli. He enjoys doing the research involved in such projects, distilling a mountain of information in search of facts, anecdotes, and quotes that provide young readers with interesting, accurate, and readable insights into a person or historical event.

Quotations: "My longtime employment with the International Reading Association has exposed me to lots of great children's literature and given me the opportunity to hear and meet many top children's authors. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I, too, wanted to write children's books, but it took me a while to find my special niche."

“As an author, parent, and long-time educational journalist for the International Reading Association, I believe strongly in the power of reading and in the critical role that parents can play in helping youngsters develop a love of books. I began writing and compiling Daddy Poems as a way to encourage fathers to read with their children. In doing so, I rediscovered my love of children’s poetry, and I conceived the idea of a series of children’s poetry books spotlighting the love that families share."

“I also enjoy writing nonfiction for children, and I enjoy the research that goes into learning about a topic and distilling the most interesting points.”

"I have always believed in the importance of fathers reading to their children - a belief that deepened upon the birth of my own two children. That was the genesis for Daddy Poems. My goal was to create a book of poems about dads and kids that fathers could share with their children."

Membership

Micklos is a member of the Association of Educational Publishers, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, National Writers Association.

Personality

Micklos says that he enjoys both the writing and editing processes. He likes going through several drafts of a project in the elusive search for perfection. Micklos also enjoys working with students in schools, helping them develop their own voices and helping them realize that writing can be fun.

Interests

• writing, reading

• Sport & Clubs

  Golf, tennis

Connections

On June 1, 1985, Micklos married Deborah J. Amsden, an education consultant. They have two children: Amy Lynn and John J. Micklos III.

Father:

John Joseph Micklos

Mother:

M. Shirley (Sipple) Micklos

Spouse:

Deborah L. Amsden

child:

Amy Lynn Micklos

child:

John J. Micklos III

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series brings researchers the most recent data on the worlds most-popular authors.
  2010