Bio

Born in 1942 in Buffalo, New York, Elizabeth Levy grew up reading a wide variety of books for children and adults. Levy had a vivid imagination, and though her penchant for stretching the truth and lying got her in trouble, it also led to her first published work, a poem called “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Nurse All Dressed in White” that was printed in the newspaper when she was in third grade. Levy graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1964 and went on to earn a graduate degree from Columbia University. Before turning to writing full-time, she worked as an editor and news researcher for ABC, an assistant editor at Macmillan, a public-relations writer for the New York Public Library, and a staff writer for an urban-affairs consulting firm.

Since 1971, Levy has published more than 90 books for young readers, including fiction, nonfiction, young adult novels, and mysteries. One of the most rewarding aspects of her life as a writer has been volunteering at a New York City public school, working one-on-one with fifth-grade students to help them write and publish their own stories. She lives in New York with her husband, a professor.