Michelle Knudsen
Michelle Knudsen is the New York Times best-selling author of more than 45 books for young readers, including board books, picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. Her best-known book to date is the award-winning picture book Library Lion, which has been translated into fourteen languages, is currently being performed as a stage production in Israel, and was recently selected by Time Magazine as one of the Best 100 Children’s Books of All Time.
Formerly an editor with Random House Children’s Publishing, Michelle worked on various projects from preschool formats through early chapter books and was the editor of Barbara Park’s best-selling Junie B. Jones series for many years. She teaches writing for young people at Lesley University’s MFA program and has also taught children’s book writing at Gotham Writers’ Workshop and The New School in New York City.
Michelle’s newest book is the picture book Marilyn’s Monster (March 2015), illustrated by the award-winning Matt Phelan. Forthcoming titles include THE MAGE OF TRELIAN (the third book in her middle grade fantasy trilogy) and a sequel to her young adult novel Evil Librarian (a funny, creepy, paranormal, musical-theater-horror-romance adventure, which Kirkus described as “snappily narrated, tightly plotted, and generally just right.”). Michelle lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Works
Evil Librarian
Candlewick Press, September 9, 2014 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6038-3
When Cynthia Rothschild's best friend, Annie, falls head over heels for the new high school librarian, Cyn can totally understand why — he's really young and ridiculously hot and apparently thinks Annie would make an excellent library monitor.
But almost immediately, Cyn starts to sense that something about Mr. Gabriel isn't quite right. Maybe it's the creepy look in the librarian's (literally) mesmerizing eyes, or the weird feeling Cyn gets whenever she's around him, or the blood and horns and giant bat-like wings that appear when he thinks no one is looking. Before long, Cyn realizes that Mr. Gabriel is, in fact ... a demon.
Now, in addition to saving her beloved school musical (Sweeney Todd!) from technical disaster and avoiding making a complete fool out of herself with her own hopeless crush (who happens to be the only other person who knows the truth about Mr. Gabriel), Cyn has to save her best friend from the attractive-yet-very-very-bad clutches of the evil librarian, who has not only bewitched Annie but seems to be slowly sucking the life force out of the entire student body!
REVIEWS
"[A] self-aware supernatural dramedy... The writing is clever, the tone wry, and the stakes high, with surprises that keep the plot unpredictable. Cyn’s internal monologue provides plenty of amusement, especially when her hormones threaten to overpower her common sense. It’s an entertaining tale with room for future installments."
—Publishers Weekly
"Snappily narrated, tightly plotted and generally just right. Forget paranormal romance; this horror-humor-romance pastiche is where those in search of hot nonhumans should set their sights."
—Kirkus Reviews
"If Louise Rennison and Christopher Moore had a bibliographic love child it would be this cheekily narrated supernatural offering."
—School Library Journal
"Hysterical! Smart and funny, with a little drama, a little romance, and just the right touch of evil."
—Stephenie Meyer, author of the bestselling Twilight Saga
"A funny, surprisingly chilling look at what happens when a minor demon becomes a high-school librarian and begins stealing life forces and lining up a child bride - but decides not to disrupt the school musical ... Cynthia and her friends are roiling with angst, romance, friendship, heartbreak, resentment and fear, and as funny as the book is, author Michelle Knudsen does a nice job capturing those darker moments."
—Virginian-Pilot
"Very funny and truly horrifying." —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Marilyn's Monster
Big Mean Mike
Argus
The Dragon of Trelian
Library Lion
Website
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Author Contact
Category
Fiction & Literature, Horror / Thriller, Humor, Children, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Teens
agent Contact
Jodi Reamer
publicist Contact
Erika Denn