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David Lee is 12 years old and disappointed in his father Earl, a once-famous rodeo clown who has quit the circuit and moved David to a small town in Vermont to start a new life. David has a hard time adjusting to life as a "normal" boy and is hurt that his father never allowed him the chance to be his partner in the rodeo arena. When Earl tries to buy David a horse at auction, David pretends to have no interest in it, and the horse is sold, instead, to a 70-year-old woman named Sarah Tierney.
(Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfigh...)
Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's consciousness - how could he be, with the entire town of Arcangel waiting for the day Manolo will fulfill his father's legacy?
(Three brothers have everything they want except a mother ...)
Three brothers have everything they want except a mother and, after the latest housekeeper leaves in despair, they decide to help father find a new wife.
(Christian Wolny learns much about life, love, and faith a...)
Christian Wolny learns much about life, love, and faith as he roams through New York City with his friend, Jose Martinez, who is really God in disguise.
Maia Wojciechowska was a Polish-American poet, translator, and children’s fiction writer. She worked at a variety of jobs, including undercover detective, poll taker, and ghost writer.
Background
Maia Teresa Wojciechowska was born on August 7, 1927, in Warsaw, Poland. She was the daughter of Zygmunt Wojciechowski and Zofia (Rudakowska) Wojciechowski.
Wojciechowska was a middle child - a resourceful and capable girl sandwiched between her two energetic brothers and surrounded by many colorful relatives. Wojciechowska’s father was a pilot in the Polish Air Force and her mother often raised the family alone for the periods of time her father was stationed away from home.
But all her childhood adventures paled when compared to Wojciechowska’s dangerous escape from her home-land following the Nazi invasion of Poland at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. This historic event would dramatically change her life and force Wojciechowska to grow up quickly and face unimaginable challenges. Witnessing the horrible and vicious behavior of the Nazi invading troops towards the Polish people, especially those of Jewish descent, and fearing for her family’s safety, Wojciechowska’s mother decided to leave their home and join her husband who was stationed in France. She bravely guided Wojciechowska and her two brothers out of war-torn Poland. Often traveling on foot and desperately trying to avoid both the German and Soviet invaders, the Wojciechowska family made their way through Romania and Italy, finally reaching France.
In 1940, when the French government surrendered to the power of the German occupation forces, Colonel Wojciechowski left for England while his family remained in France. The family would later seek refuge in Spain, Portugal, and England before deciding that the United States would make the safest and best home. At the end of 1942, Colonel Wojciechowski, who had been chief-of-staff of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain, accepted an assignment as air attache to the Polish Embassy in Los Angeles and the family started their new life in America.
Education
Wojciechowska attended schools in Poland, France, and England. From 1945 to 1946, she attended Immaculate Heart College.
Although Wojciechowska always wanted to write for a living, her first novel was rejected by over thirty publishers. Unable to survive as a writer and unsure of what other career she wanted to pursue, Wojciechowska tried her hand at a myriad of professions and amused herself with numerous adventures, such as motorcycle racing and downhill skiing. In one year, Wojciechowska worked at an unbelievable seventy-two jobs - ranging from waitress, masseuse, and undercover detective. During this time Wojciechowska also maintained a career as a professional tennis player and instructor.
In 1952, Wojciechowska finally discovered a vent for her sense of adventure and her passion for the unorthodox in writing. With the help and encouragement of her then husband, Selden Rodman, Wojciechowska wrote a story to accompany the artwork of a Haitian artist whose work she admired. Wojciechowska’s first book, Market Day for Ti Andre, was published, launching what would become a very successful and rewarding writing career for her. Although never really losing her daredevil ways and her thirst for excitement, writing brought more stability to Wojciechowska’s life.
In addition to writing, Ms. Wojciechowska was a translator for Radio Free Europe and a publicity director for Hawthorn Books. In 1975, she started her own publishing company.
The philosophy of self-respect or self-realization or searching for identity is a favorite theme of Wojciechowska’s and is the focal point of most of her books. Wojciechowska believes in order to find happiness with themselves young people must first develop their own sense of self or identity. Critics often point to such Wojciechowska books as The Hollywood Kid, A Single Light, and Tuned Out as examples of how gifted Wojciechowska is at portraying the emotions experienced by many of today’s youths as they move closer to adulthood.
In her acceptance speech at the Newbery Awards ceremony, Wojciechowska went on to share some of her thoughts on what she feels makes a good writer of books for young people in Writer.
Quotations:
“I want to give you a glimpse of the choices you have before you, of the price that will be asked of you. When you know what life has to sell, for how much, and what it can give away free, you will not live in darkness. I hope that in books you’ll find your light, and that by this light you may cross from one shore of love to another, from your childhood into your adulthood. I hope that some of the light will come from my books and that, because of this light, life will lose its power to frighten you.”
“First of all, you must be a natural admirer of children. You must be one of those people who instinctively knows that children are the truly beautiful people. You must be aware of the magnificent beginning that is the lot of every human being, a beginning that is invariably loused up by people who don’t recognize children as a superior breed. Children are more intelligent than adults. The directness of their thought processes must be the delight of logicians. They can write any adult under the table as readily as they can put to shame any painter. So you owe them respect.”
Personality
Wojciechowska’s skill for accurately writing with sensitivity about the various problems confronting young people today in their search to find their own identity is admired and appreciated by her many readers.
One has only to look at Wojciechowska’s interesting and adventurous life to understand the inspiration behind many of her popular works of fiction. Definitely a daredevil, Wojciechowska was constantly challenging herself with some dangerous feat. It is perhaps Wojciechowska’s childlike spirit of adventure as well as her still vivid memories of her own adolescence that have made her stories for young people so appealing and popular.
Connections
On December 8, 1950, Wojciechowska married Selden Rodman, a writer, but they divorced in 1957, and Maia married Richard Larkin, a poet, and antique restorer, on January 9, 1972. In 1981, their marriage ended in a divorce.
From her first marriage, Maia had a daughter, Oriana. Wojciechowska also adopted one child, a girl named Leonora.