Jan Slepian
Encyclopedia
Jan Slepian is an author of books for children and young adults. Born Janice Berek in New York City, she obtained a degree in psychology at Brooklyn College
, later doing graduate work in clinical psychology and speech pathology at the University of Washington
in Seattle. She worked as a speech therapist at Massachusetts General Hospital
in Boston and before embarking on a writing career.
With co-author Ann Seidler, she published several illustrated books in a series called the "The Listen-Hear Books". Titles included The Hungry Thing, The Hungry Thing Returns and The Hungry Thing Goes to a Restaurant: all three are for young readers and teach about phonemic awareness
; they also co-authored The Cat Who Wore a Pot on Her Head, Alfie and the Dream Machine and several other titles.
Some of her books deal with mental disability, including The Alfred Summer (1980) Lester's Turn (1981) (both of which feature the voice of a child afflicted by cerebral palsy) and Risk n' Roses (1990).
Books for adolescent readers include The Night of the Bozos (1983), The Broccoli Tapes (1989), Pinocchio's Sister (1995), Mind Reader (1997) and Emily Just in Time (1998).
Her husband was the noted mathematician David Slepian
.
Her most recent book, "Astonishment", (ISBN 0-557-04914-8) is a collection of twenty brief essays on aging and life in a retirement community.
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, later doing graduate work in clinical psychology and speech pathology at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle. She worked as a speech therapist at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston and before embarking on a writing career.
With co-author Ann Seidler, she published several illustrated books in a series called the "The Listen-Hear Books". Titles included The Hungry Thing, The Hungry Thing Returns and The Hungry Thing Goes to a Restaurant: all three are for young readers and teach about phonemic awareness
Phonemic awareness
Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can differentiate meaning...
; they also co-authored The Cat Who Wore a Pot on Her Head, Alfie and the Dream Machine and several other titles.
Some of her books deal with mental disability, including The Alfred Summer (1980) Lester's Turn (1981) (both of which feature the voice of a child afflicted by cerebral palsy) and Risk n' Roses (1990).
Books for adolescent readers include The Night of the Bozos (1983), The Broccoli Tapes (1989), Pinocchio's Sister (1995), Mind Reader (1997) and Emily Just in Time (1998).
Her husband was the noted mathematician David Slepian
David Slepian
David S. Slepian was an American mathematician.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania he studied B.Sc. at University of Michigan before joining the forces in World War II,as Sonic deception officer in the Ghost army....
.
Her most recent book, "Astonishment", (ISBN 0-557-04914-8) is a collection of twenty brief essays on aging and life in a retirement community.
Awards and recognition
- The Alfred Summer was included on a list of the One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century by the School Library Journal (2000). It was also nominated for American Book Award and was on the honor roll of the Boston Globe-Horn Book AwardBoston Globe-Horn Book AwardThe Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
(1980).