Patricia Reilly Giff seems to have the luck of the Irish! In her 28-year career, this Irish-American author has written more than 60 books for kids, including the popular Kids of the Polk Street School series and the award winning Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. This month, Giff's latest book, Maggie's Door, hits bookstores.
The book is a sequel to Nory Ryan's Song. It continues the adventures of Nory, a young girl with a big heart and a lot of courage. The Irish Potato Famine forces Nory and her family to leave Ireland, journey across the Atlantic Ocean and begin a new life in Brooklyn, New York. Giff hopes that Nory's tale will teach young readers about the famine that devastated Ireland from 1845 to 1849. More than 1 million people died of starvation and disease when a fungus wiped out Ireland's potato crop.
Giff comes by her interest in Ireland naturally. Several of her great-grandparents made the same trip as Nory. "My people came from Ireland, and I am fascinated by the country's history," says Giff. "I try to give children a sense of that history."
Most of Giff's stories deal with ordinary children who must overcome some extra-ordinary obstacles. "When I write," she says, "I think of myself as a child, and of my children and grandchildren. We were all ordinary kids, so that's who I write about."
Becoming a writer was an easy decision for Giff. She spent more than 20 years teaching reading and an appreciation of books to fourth, fifth and sixth graders in New York. She realized that older kids needed a better choice of books, so she decided to write books herself. "I love writing," she says. "It has been a blessing and a joy in my life. If someone asked me what I would like to do today, I would say, 'Write.'"