35 Facts About Kate DiCamillo

Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo was born on March 25,1964 and is an American children's fiction author.

Kate DiCamillo earned an English degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and spent several years working entry-level jobs in Clermont before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1994.

In Minnesota, Kate DiCamillo worked in a book warehouse and attempted to get a book published.

Kate DiCamillo then left her job to become a full-time author.

From 2014 to 2015, Kate DiCamillo was the American National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Kate DiCamillo is the sister of Curt Kate DiCamillo, an architectural historian.

Kate DiCamillo had chronic pneumonia as a child and was often hospitalized.

Kate DiCamillo's father remained in Philadelphia with his business, but visited on occasion.

Kate DiCamillo was an avid reader as a child and often visited the local library.

Kate DiCamillo later credited her mother for sparking her love for books.

Kate DiCamillo often turned to reading when she was particularly sick with pneumonia and unable to do much else.

Kate DiCamillo wanted to be a veterinarian until she was around ten.

Kate DiCamillo was educated at public schools in the area beginning with Clermont Elementary, before entering Rollins College.

Kate DiCamillo left Rollins and worked for a time at Walt Disney World before briefly attending the University of Central Florida.

Kate DiCamillo eventually entered the University of Florida, Gainesville, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1987.

Kate DiCamillo then worked various entry-level jobs in Clermont, including at Circus World, Walt Disney World, a campground, and a greenhouse.

Kate DiCamillo said of her life during this time that she thought she was a talented writer and expected it to be quickly recognized so she "sat around for the next seven or eight years".

Kate DiCamillo moved to Minneapolis in 1994, following a close friend, and after several jobs was hired to work at The Bookman, a book warehouse and distributor, as a picker, eventually in the children's book section, a placement she was initially disappointed by.

Kate DiCamillo began writing regularly while working at the warehouse, waking up before her shifts on weekdays to write.

Kate DiCamillo was encouraged by the author Jane Resh Thomas.

Kate DiCamillo conceived the book's plot during the winter of her first year living in Minnesota, when she was missing her Florida home and upset about her apartment's no-dog policy.

Kate DiCamillo gave her draft to a Candlewick sales agent who was at a Christmas party held by The Bookman.

Flo Davis, the wife of a founder of the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain, sponsored Kate DiCamillo to visit various schools in Florida and widen the book's reach.

Kate DiCamillo won the Newbery Medal in 2004 for her third book, The Tale of Despereaux.

Kate DiCamillo wrote it upon the request of the child of one of her friends for a story with "an unlikely hero".

Kate DiCamillo said she was shocked by the news of the Newbery.

Kate DiCamillo said her 2006 book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which is about a china rabbit, was very easy to write.

In 2014, Kate DiCamillo was named the fourth National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a post she held from January 2014 to December 2015.

Kate DiCamillo's books have been adapted into films and stage productions.

Kate DiCamillo co-wrote the Winn-Dixie screenplay and did some early consulting on The Tale of Despereaux, but was comparatively less involved.

Kate DiCamillo's style is often similar to children's literature from the Victorian or Edwardian eras.

Kate DiCamillo told the National Endowment for the Arts that her books were "the same story, over and over in many ways" with the same themes repeating.

Kate DiCamillo has said that when writing books for children she tries to be direct and "not to condescend to them".

Kate DiCamillo told another interviewer that "the kid in me has never gone away" and that when she writes for children rather than adults the main difference is that she is more hopeful.

Many of her books have animals as main characters, something Kate DiCamillo has called ironic, because as a child she avoided such books.