Deborah
Award Winning Children’s Author
Nonfiction & Historical Fiction Author, from Picture Books to Middle Grade
Travels from: Portland, OR

“Hopkinson is particularly adept at directing attention to the stories behind the heroic stories.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Deborah Hopkinson is the award-winning author of more than 70 books for young readers including picture books, historical fiction, and nonfiction. Deborah’s nonfiction includes Titanic, Voices from the Disaster, which received a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction honor and a Robert F. Sibert Honor, Courage & Defiance, Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in WWII Denmark, winner of the OCTE Oregon Spirit Award, and Shutting out the Sky, Life in the Tenements of New York 1880-1924, which received an NCTE Orbis Pictus honor.

Deborah’s historical fiction title, The Great Trouble, A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel, also won an OCTE Oregon Spirit Award and was a finalist for the Oregon Book award. Her Golden Books include best-selling biographies of Betty White and Dolly Parton.

A native of Massachusetts, Deborah received a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts and an M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. For many years she worked in academic fundraising for institutions including Whitman College and Oregon State University. She lives with her family and many pets near Portland, Oregon and has two grown children and one grandson.

Race Against Death: The Greatest POW Rescue of World War II

Scholastic Focus |
Middle Grade

A thrilling account of the most daring American P.O.W. rescue mission of World War II.

Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, America entered World War II, and a new theater of battle opened up in the Pacific. But US troops, along with thousands of Filipino soldiers who fought alongside them, were overtaken in the Philippines by a fiercely determined Japanese navy, and many Americans and Filipino fighters were killed or captured.

These American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to endure the most horrific conditions on the deadly trek known as the Bataan Death March. Then, the American servicemen who were held captive by the Japanese military in Cabanatuan Camp and others in the Philippines, faced beatings, starvation, and tropical diseases, and lived constantly under the threat of death.

Unable to forget their comrades’ fate and concerned that these POWs would be brutally murdered as the tides of war shifted in the Pacific, the US Army Rangers undertook one of the most daring and dangerous rescue missions of all time. Aided by the “Angels of the Underground,” the Sixth Ranger Battalion and courageous Filipino guerrilla soldiers set out on an uncertain and treacherous assignment. Often called the Great Raid, this remarkable story remains largely forgotten.

Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson presents an extraordinary and unflinching look at the heroic servicemen and women who courageously weathered the worst of circumstances and conditions in service to their country, as well as those who answered the call to save their fellow soldiers.

Happy Earth Day!

Golden Books |
Children’s

This fact-filled Little Golden Book is about Earth Day–what it is and why it’s important–and offers suggestions for actions kids can take to help protect and heal our planet.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 each year, but this Little Golden Book about the history and importance of Earth Day will inspire children to appreciate our planet each and every day! Includes directions for family-friendly projects, such as composting, growing baby carrots on a windowsill, making a bug hotel, and more.

Only One

Anne Schwartz Books |
Children’s

This lyrical, environmentally focused picture book showcases the unique beauty of our one and only universe–its galaxies, stars, and planets–as well as our one and only Earth and the precious life it contains.

K-2: What Makes a Writer?

Readers make writers! We explore where ideas come from with an emphasis on reading and practice. It includes choral reading of picture books such as Girl Wonder and new early chapter series the Adventures of Trim.

Grades 3-5: Imagine the Past

We explore nonfiction, historical fiction, and critical thinking and research skills such as sourcing and close reading. Featured books include nonfiction, historical fiction such as The Great Trouble and my new novel, The Plot to Kill a Queen, which features a cameo by Shakespeare and includes a one-act play free for students to perform.

Grades 5-8: Be a History Detective

I encourage upper elementary and middle school students to be history detectives and tell their own stories too! We explore historical fiction including The Great Trouble, The Plot to Kill a Queen, and How I Became a Spy along with my Deadliest series, which features a downloadable nonfiction study guide and includes a different student writing focus in each of the three books.

Grades 6-8: Tell Your Story!

My long form nonfiction books include several titles on the Holocaust and World War II including We Had to Be Brave, We Must Not Forget, D-Day, and Race Against Death. Since these books depend on oral histories and unpublished narratives, one focus of my presentations for upper elementary and middle school students is why it’s essential to tell your own story and that of your family. Without these stories, history would be lost.

Writing Activities

Writing activities can be incorporated into presentations, especially for students in third grade and above. The activities below are also available as stand-alone sessions of approximately 45 minutes each.

Apples to Oregon – Writing a Letter to a Person of the Past. Although this is a funny tall tale it provides a launchpad to explore our time and 1847. We explore historical context by examining what’s the same and what’s different—including transportation, technology, gender roles, families, and social justice.

Follow the Moon Home – Writing a Letter of Support. This informational fiction picture book models a community action project. I spent many years working in nonprofits and universities writing grants. Here young writers learn how to craft a simple letter seeking support for a fictional project on helping sea turtles—or a project of their choice.

A Letter to My Teacher – Writing a Letter of Gratitude. This is one of the most enjoyable writing activities for spring, around Teacher Appreciation Week. I guide students through a thank you letter to a teacher or another person in their life who has made a difference. The best part is when we have time to read them aloud and teachers present get to hear the impact they have.

The Story of a Story – Writing a Story in Three Parts. This picture book has a writing activity with prompts included in the back matter. I often get questions about writer’s block. This is a fun book about one young writer’s solution.

Stand-alone Titanic Writing Workshop

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster- Putting Yourself in History: The Letter of a Titanic Survivor. In this workshop more appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students, we follow the journey of one family on the fateful ship. Students are encouraged to imagine themselves there in time. After providing young writers with the first line of a widow and young mother’s heartbreaking letter to her in-laws informing them of their son’s death, students finish her letter, adding vivid details. I have fouhis workshop encourages empathy and compassion.

Deadliest Nonfiction Study Guide

Deborah’s Critique Services

Deborah’s Events

Deborah’s Nonfiction Reading: Tips for Kids (and You)

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor
Carter G. Woodson Award Honor
Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children Recommended
Comstock Book Award
Eloise Jarvis McGraw Children’s Literature Oregon Book Award
Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text
Great Lakes Book Award
Green Earth Book Award
Growing Good Kids Award
International Reading Association Award
Jane Addams Peace Association Children’s Book Award/Honor
Junior Library Guild Selection (multiple)
Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature Oregon Book Award
OCTE Oregon Spirit Award
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award (Honor and Recommended)
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor
Sigurd F. Olsen Nature Writing Award
Social Justice Book Award
YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist

Media clips

Media Kit

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where you can download author photos and cover images.

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