Andrew Elborn Clements (May 29, 1949 – November 28, 2019) was an American author of
children's literature. His
debut novelFrindle won an award determined by the vote of U.S. schoolchildren in about 20 different U.S. states. In June 2015, Frindle was named the
Phoenix Award winner for 2016, as it was the best book that did not win a major award when it was published.[1]
Life
Clements was born in
Camden, New Jersey, and lived in nearby
Oaklyn and
Cherry Hill before moving to
Springfield, Illinois as a pre-teen.[2][3] As a child, he enjoyed summers at a lakeside cabin in
Maine where he spent his days swimming, hiking, water skiing, and his evenings reading books. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from
Northwestern University and a Masters of Arts in Elementary Education from
National Louis University, he worked as a teacher, sharing his love of reading with elementary, middle, and high school students.[2]
He worked for several publishing companies where he published, acquired, edited, marketed, and developed quality children's books. In 1985, Clements added his own work to the market with a picture book entitled Bird Delbert. His first novel was the award-winning Frindle, which has won 16 state book awards, as well as the
Christopher Award.
Clements was married to the former Rebecca Pierpont, and they had three sons.[3] He died at his home in
Baldwin, Maine, on November 28, 2019, at age 70 from an undisclosed illness.[3][4]
Awards
The
Children's Literature Association named Frindle the best English-language children's book published in 1996 that did not win a major contemporary book award, thus making it the winner of the
Phoenix Award for 2016.[1]
Contemporary Awards
2001: Utah Children's Choice Award
1999–2000: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award
1999: Texas Children's Crown Award
1999: Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice, (WA, OR, MT, AK, ID, AB, BC)
1999: South Dakota Prairie Pasque Award
1999: Sasquatch Children's Book Award, (WA)
1999: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award, (IL)
1998–1999: Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 4–6
1998–1999: Young Hoosier Book Award, (IN)
1998–1999: North Carolina Children's Choice Award
1998–1999: Nevada Young Readers' Award
1998–1999: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, (AR)
1998–1999: Maud Hart Lovelace Award, MN Youth Reading Award
1998–1999: Georgia Children's Book Award
1998–1999: William Allen White Children's Book Award, (KS)
Ham and Eggs for Jack, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.
Life in the Desert, Steck-Vaughn, 1998.
Desert Treasure, illustrated by Wayne Anthony Still, Steck-Vaughn, 1998.
Inventors: Making Things Better, Steck-Vaughn, 1998.
Milo's Great Invention, illustrated by Johnansen Newman, Steck-Vaughn, 1998.
References
^
ab"Phoenix Award"Archived September 23, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine. Children's Literature Association (childlitassn.org). June 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.