American children's writer
Mary Downing Hahn (born December 9, 1937) is an American writer of young adult novels and a former school librarian. She is known for books such as Stepping On The Cracks and Wait Till Helen Comes.[1] She published her first book in 1979 and has since written over 30 novels.[2][3] Her novel What We Saw was published in September 2022.[4]
Personal life
The daughter of Kenneth Ernest Downing (an automobile mechanic) and Anna Elisabeth Sherwood (a teacher), Mary Downing married William E. Hahn on October 7, 1961. They had two daughters. She married, secondly, to Norman Pearce Jacob (a librarian) on April 23, 1982.[5]
She suffered a major stroke at the age of 44 [6]
Awards
State awards
Wait Till Helen Comes (1986)
- Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington)
- Rebecca Caudhill Young Readers' Book Award (Illinois)
- Young Hoosier Award (Indiana)
- Iowa Children's Choice Award
- Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Minnesota)
- Golden Sower Award (Nebraska)
- Volunteer State Book Award (Tennessee)
- Texas Bluebonnet Award
- Utah Children's Book Award
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont)
- Virginia Readers' Choice Award
The Doll in the Garden (1989)
- Georgia Children's Book Award
- Mark Twain Award (Missouri)
- Virginia Readers' Choice Award
The Dead Man In Indian Creek (1990)
- Colorado Children's Book Award
- Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Minnesota)
- South Carolina Children's Book Award
- Utah Children's Book Award
- Virginia Readers' Choice Award
Stepping on the Cracks (1991)
- Golden Sower Award (Nebraska)
- South Carolina Children's Book Award
Time for Andrew (1994)
- California Young Reader's Medal
- Georgia Children's Book Award
- Rebecca Caudhill Young Readers' Book Award (Illinois)
- William Allen White Children's Book Award (Kansas)
- Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award
- Mark Twain Award (Missouri)
- Texas Bluebonnet Award
- Utah Children's Book Award
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont)
- Virginia Readers' Choice Award
The Gentleman Outlaw and Me—Eli (1996)
- Iowa Children's Choice Award
The Old Willis Place (2004)
- William Allen White Children's Book Award (Kansas)
- Golden Sower Award (Nebraska)
- South Carolina Children's Book Award
- Volunteer State Book Award (Tennessee)
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont)
Witch Catcher (2006)
- West Virginia Children's Book Award
Deep and Dark and Dangerous (2007)
- Golden Sower Award (Nebraska)
Closed for the Season (2009)
- Golden Sower Award (Nebraska)