David LaRochelle (born October 26, 1960)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

DAVID LAROCHELLE, a former elementary school teacher, is author and illustrator of numerous middle-grade readers and picture books, including The End, which received four starred reviews. David lives in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

"I was born in Minneapolis on October 26th. I grew up in New Brighton, Minnesota, where I spent way too much time watching TV (which is strange because I never watch television now).

When I wasn’t watching reruns of “Gilligan’s Island” or “The Brady Bunch,” I enjoyed reading, drawing, acting out make-believe stories with my neighbor LuAnn, and annoying my older sister Debbie.

Some of my favorite gifts as a kid included a tank of helium (I wanted to become a balloon man), Spirograph, and packs of brightly colored construction paper. I could spend hours making things out of construction paper. My childhood hero was Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, and if I couldn’t become a balloon man, I wanted to become a cartoonist.

I had various pets growing up, including rabbits, turtles, goldfish, and a white rat left over from a school science project. But for those of you who have read The Best Pet of All, it will come as no surprise that my favorite pet was our dog, Caesar.

I loved making up silly poems, and created my own magazine, Rhyme Time, which also featured the comic strip adventures of Mighty Man. In high school, a horror story of mine titled “Miss Phillip’s Sixth Grade Class Goes to the Museum” (too gruesome to describe!) was published in a magazine for teens, which was the first time I was ever paid money for one of my stories. Art and English classes were always my favorite subjects.

By the time I graduated from St. Olaf College in 1983 I had changed my career plans once again. This time I wanted to work as an illustrator for Hallmark cards. When that plan fell through (I was told that I couldn’t draw well enough), I decided to become an elementary school teacher instead.

It was while I was teaching fourth grade that a friend convinced me to send a story I had written to a local publisher. To my surprise, the editor wanted to buy it, and in 1988 my first book, A Christmas Guest, was published.

Since then I have written or illustrated over twenty-five books, including picture books, puzzle books, craft books, and just recently, my first book for young adults.

Even though I visit many schools each year to talk about my books, I am no longer a regular classroom teacher, but work fulltime as an author and illustrator. I live in White Bear Lake, Minnesota." --David LaRochelle

Source: http://www.davidlarochelle.net/

Further Readings:

Absolutely Positively Not (Sid Fleischman Humor Award) by Mr. David LaRochelle
Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Level: 7 and up
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (June 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439591090
ISBN-13: 978-0439591096
Amazon: Absolutely Positively Not

There is one thing Steven knows for sure: He's absolutely, positively NOT gay.

Steven's a 16-year-old boy with two obsessions: sex and getting his driving license. The problem is, Steven's not thinking girls when he's thinking sex. Could he be -- don't say it -- gay? Steven sets out to get in touch with his inner he-man with Healthy Heterosexual Strategies such as "Start Hanging Out with the Guys," and "Begin Intensive Dating." But are Steven's tactics going to straighten him out, or leave him all twisted up?

Absolutely hilarious. Positively sidesplitting. But absolutely, positively NOT GAY!

More Spotlights at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Lists/Gay Novels