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1793

Laurie Halse (rhymes with "waltz") was born on October 23, 1961 in Potsdam, New York, to Methodist minister Frank A., Jr. and manager Joyce Holcomb Halse. The author says that she decided to become a writer in second grade. Her teacher taught the class how to write haiku. She enjoyed it a lot and hopes that every second grader will learn to write poetry. Halse soon started reading library books for hours. The magic of the elementary school library came alive in life. Heidi, one of Halse's favorite books, sparked her interest in foreign cultures.
Halse's creative thoughts began as a child.
For instance, Halse recalls trudging through the snow on her way to school. She imagined that she had changed into an enormous polar bear.
Writing also started as a little girl for Halse. She enjoyed watching her father write poetry and read the comics spread out on his office floor. She used her father's old typewriter for hours, writing newspaper columns, stories, and letters. Halse declares that the dictionary is her favorite book.
As a senior in high school, Halse visited Denmark as an American Field Service exchange student. She lived on a pig farm and learned to speak Danish. The author obtained an associate of arts degree in 1981 from Onandaga County Community College. She married Gregory H. Anderson, chief executive officer of Anderson Financial Systems, on June 19,1983. They raised two children: Stephanie and Meredith. The author earned a bachelor of science in Languages and Linguistics (B.S.L.L.) degree in 1984 from Georgetown University. Laurie Halse Anderson belongs to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Anderson organized the SCBWI's Fall Conference in Philadelphia from 1994 to 1996.
She decided to write Fever 1793 after reading a newspaper article in August of 1993 that explained the yellow fever epidemic that devastated Philadelphia 200 years earlier. The U.S. capital in 1793, Philadelphia served as the political and cultural...