Patricia "Patty" MacLachlan was born March 3, 1938 on the wide-open Wyoming prairie although she has lived in Massachusetts most of her life and carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she goes to this day as a reminder of what she knew first. This love comes through strongly in the 1986 Newbery Medal-winning novel Sarah, Plain and Tall and its sequel, Skylark, as does another of her loves — the sea.
After spending a few years in Minnesota, Patty traveled to the East Coast to attend the University of Connecticut. She subsequently married psychologist Robert MacLachlan and had three kids.
Even if Patty didn't officially put pen to paper until around the age of thirty-five--after her children were all in school--her childhood was heavily populated with stories and storybook characters. Her parents, she writes, invited her into books. It’s no wonder then that she grew up to become one of today’s most respected children’s authors of many timeless novels for young readers and many beloved picture books, many of which she co-wrote with her daughter, Emily.
Patty loves writing for children because of their openness and the comments she gets from her young readers either in letters or during her visits to classrooms. Patty is a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance (a national not-for-profit that actively advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries). She lives with her husband and two border terriers in western Massachusetts.
After spending a few years in Minnesota, Patty traveled to the East Coast to attend the University of Connecticut. She subsequently married psychologist Robert MacLachlan and had three kids.Even if Patty didn't officially put pen to paper until around the age of thirty-five--after her children were all in school--her childhood was heavily populated with stories and storybook characters. Her parents, she writes, invited her into books. It’s no wonder then that she grew up to become one of today’s most respected children’s authors of many timeless novels for young readers and many beloved picture books, many of which she co-wrote with her daughter, Emily.
She says that young people who want to be writers should be readers first. Patty recommends writing every day, even when you don't want to. "The more you do it, the stronger you get at it…. But I don't love to do it every day. Children are really interested to hear that I don't love to write every day because neither do they, so we have something in common but it does help you tell your story in a more efficient way."
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