Florence's Fans (7)

Florence Parry Heide

Author profile

born

February 25, 1919 in The United States

died

October 24, 2011

gender

female

genre

Children's Books

About this author

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"What do I like about writing for children? Everything," says Florence Parry Heide, the award-winning author of more than sixty children’s books, including the classic THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN, illustrated by Edward Gorey. "I like the connection with children," the author says. "I like the connection with all kinds of book people. And I like the connection with my childhood self, which is the most of me. It is the most welcome and familiar of worlds. There miracles abound--indeed it is magical that something I might think of can be put into words, stories, ideas, and that those words end up in the heads of readers I will never meet."

Florence Parry Heide wrote SOME THINGS ARE SCARY, a humorous look at childhood bugaboos, more than thirty ye...more "What do I like about writing for children? Everything," says Florence Parry Heide, the award-winning author of more than sixty children’s books, including the classic THE SHRINKING OF TREEHORN, illustrated by Edward Gorey. "I like the connection with children," the author says. "I like the connection with all kinds of book people. And I like the connection with my childhood self, which is the most of me. It is the most welcome and familiar of worlds. There miracles abound--indeed it is magical that something I might think of can be put into words, stories, ideas, and that those words end up in the heads of readers I will never meet."

Florence Parry Heide wrote SOME THINGS ARE SCARY, a humorous look at childhood bugaboos, more than thirty years ago. "I had finished another book and was in the mood to write something else," she says. "I decided to get some kindling from the garage, reached into the kindling box and--good grief!--grabbed something soft and mushy. I fled back to the house, scared to death." A brave return visit to the kindling box revealed the object of terror to be nothing more than a discarded wet sponge, but the thought remained: some things are scary. As she recalls, "What scared me as a child was that I’d never learn how to be a real grownup--and the fact is, I never did find out how it goes."

One thing Florence Parry Heide does have a good handle on is the concept of friendship, in all its humorous manifestations. THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR, a tongue-in-cheek tale cowritten with Sylvia Van Clief in 1967, pokes at the tendency of well-meaning friends to offer advice instead of help, and presents a valuable lesson about what true friendship means. "One of my many (true) sayings is ‘A new friend is around the corner of every single day,’ " the author declares. "Also true: Friendships last. And last."

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Florence Parry Heide worked in advertising and public relations in New York City before returning to Pittsburgh during World War II. After the war, she and her husband moved to Wisconsin, where they raised five children, two of whom have cowritten critically acclaimed books with their mother. Florence Parry Heide now lives in Wisconsin.
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combine editions
Books by Florence Parry Heide

Average rating: 3.96 · 1,198 ratings · 284 reviews · 84 distinct works

	Princess Hyacinth by Florence Parry Heide, Lane Smith (Illustrator) 3.84 avg rating — 386 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	My rating:
	The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide (author), Edward Gorey (illustrator) 4.25 avg rating — 223 ratings — published 1971 — 9 editions	My rating:
	The Treehorn Trilogy: The Shrinking of Treehorn, Treehorn's Treasure, and Treehorn's Wish by Florence Parry Heide, Edward Gorey 4.43 avg rating — 102 ratings — published 1991 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Always Listen to Your Mother by Florence Parry Heide, Kyle M. Stone (Illustrator), Roxanne Heide Pierce 3.57 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 2010	My rating:
	Sami and the Time of the Troubles by Florence Parry Heide, Judith Heide Gilliland 4.34 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 1992 — 4 editions	My rating:
	The One and Only Marigold by Florence Parry Heide, Jill McElmurry (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator) 3.49 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence Parry Heide, Florence H. Parry, Ted Lewin (Illustrations) 3.83 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 1995	My rating:
	Treehorn's Treasure by Florence Parry Heide, Edward Gorey 4.09 avg rating — 32 ratings — 2 editions	My rating:
	Treehorn's Wish by Florence Parry Heide, Edward Gorey 4.22 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 1984 — 2 editions	My rating:
	The House of Wisdom 4.23 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 1999 — 2 editions	My rating: