SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Horrible Harry and the Field Day Revenge
WORK NOTES: Children’s Bookwatch
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.suzykline.com/
CITY: Willington
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 340
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born August 27, 1943, in Berkeley, CA; daughter of Harry C. (in real estate) and Martha S. (a substitute school teacher) Weaver; married Rufus O. Kline (a college teacher, newspaper correspondent, and children’s author), October 12, 1968; children: Jennifer, Emily.
EDUCATION:Attended Columbia University; University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1966; California State College (now University), Hayward, Standard Elementary Credential, 1967.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and educator. Shannon Elementary School, Richmond, CA, 1968-71; Southwest School, Torrington, CT, elementary teacher, 1976-2000. University of Connecticut, Storrs, graduate instructor in teaching children’s literature, 2001-03. Presenter at schools and workshops.
AVOCATIONS:Writing, walking, dancing, sports, reading, movies and plays, spending time with grandchildren, traveling with her husband.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, PEN, New England Reading Association, Connecticut Education Association, Torrington Education Association.
AWARDS:Best Books designation, Christian Science Monitor, 1985, and West Virginia Children’s Book Award, 1987-88, both for Herbie Jones; International Reading Association Children’s Choice Awards, 1986, for Herbie Jones, 1987, for What’s the Matter with Herbie Jones?, 1989, for Horrible Harry in Room 2-B, 1990, for Orp, and 1991, for Orp and the Chop Suey Burgers; School District Teacher of the Year Award, State of Connecticut, 1987; Probus Educator of the Year Award, 1988.
POLITICS: Democrat. RELIGION: Presbyterian.WRITINGS
Also author of plays for local elementary school. Contributor to Instructor magazine.
Several of Kline’s books have been adapted for audiobook, including Horrible Harry Cracks the Code, Recorded Books, 2008, Horrible Harry on the Ropes, Recorded Books, 2010, and Horrible Harry Goes Cuckoo, Recorded Books, 2011. James Larson adapted Horrible Harry in Room 2B and Horrible Harry Moves Up to Third Grade for a touring stage production, 2008.
SIDELIGHTS
As a former elementary schoolteacher, Suzy Kline knows a lot about kids, and as a writer and speaker she inspires young children with a love of reading that she hopes they will retain throughout their lives. Kline’s award-winning chapter books feature endearing and realistic characters such as third grader Herbie Jones; second-grade stutterer Mary Marony; Horrible Harry, the rambunctious nemesis of his second-and third-grade teachers; and Song Lee, the object of Harry’s affections. Observing the long-running popularity of Kline’s humorous stories, Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan asserted of the publication of Horrible Harry Bugs the Three Bears that “not many series reach the 20-year mark, but [Kline’s “Horrible Harry” series] … is still going strong.”
Kline was born in Berkeley, California, in 1943, and her first foray into writing occurred at age eight, when she wrote a series of letters to her ailing grandfather in Indiana. After high school she attended Columbia University for a year before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, to earn her bachelor’s degree in 1966 and her teaching credentials the following year. In 1968 Kline got a job teaching in an elementary school in Richmond, California, where she remained for three years. She also married Rufus O. Kline, a local college teacher and writer, and together they had two daughters. In 1976 the Kline family moved to New England, and they have made their home in Connecticut ever since.
Kline’s first stories appeared in picture books illustrated by Dora Leder that include Shhhh! and Don’t Touch! In Shhhh! an energetic, chatty youngster lists all the people who tell her to pipe down during the day. Tiptoeing out of doors to make all the noise she possibly can, the girl eventually settles down and becomes quiet, affirming the reaction of those around her. Called “delightful” by School Library Journal contributor Lisa Redd, Shhhh! portrays “a situation common to all children,” the critic added.
Don’t Touch! finds another child reprimanded for typical childhood behavior. In young Dan’s case, sharp edges, hot pans, wet paint, and the like all inspire his curiosity. Finally, modeling clay allows the boy to touch to his heart’s content in a story that Joan McGrath predicted in School Library Journal should be “satisfying to kids who are constantly admonished to keep hands off.”
Kline introduced the first of her popular elementary-school characters in Herbie Jones. A reluctant reader, Herbie tries to get out of the “slow” class while his talent for causing trouble impresses his peers. Finally, the distractible lad sets his mind on his schoolwork and his grades start to climb. Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper offered a favorable assessment of Kline’s “shrewd depictions of childhood concerns,” and added that Herbie is joined by “a fine supporting cast of characters.”
Kline’s third grader proved popular with readers and went on to appear in several other stories. In Herbie Jones and the Monster Ball, Herbie tries out for the local baseball team coached by his favorite uncle, while he is bumped up to an attic bedroom when Grandpa comes for a long-term visit in Herbie Jones and the Dark Attic. Kline has expanded the elementary grader’s saga by returning to his second-grade years in chapter books such as Herbie Jones Sails into Second Grade, which finds the boy relieved to find a likeable male teacher at the head of the class and happy to make a new student friend. Youngsters “venturing into chapter books will also enjoy Herbie’s previous home-and-school-centered adventures,” assured Phelan in her Booklist review of Herbie Jones Sails into Second Grade.
In Horrible Harry in Room 2-B, Kline introduces one of her most engaging young characters, the impish Harry, as seen through the eyes of his best friend Doug. Dubbed “horrible” in a lighthearted way, Harry loves to play practical jokes, especially when they prompt screams of terror from second-grade girls. Kline chronicles each of Harry’s antics in short chapters; in Horrible Harry and the Green Slime, for example, he concocts some nasty green slime, drapes the school with spider webs, and gets involved in other mischief, each story fitting “comfortably into the genre of light classroom realism,” according to Betsy Hearne in the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.
In Horrible Harry and the Drop of Doom classmate Song Lee invites Harry, Doug, and several other classmates on a trip to Mountainside Amusement Park. Harry is delighted until his arch-nemesis Sidney tells him about one of the rides, which features a thirteen-storey elevator drop. As the tale continues to play out in what Booklist critic Kay Weisman deemed a “breezy text,” Harry, who was once stuck inside an elevator, has to face his fears.
Harry and his classmates “loop together” and end up in the same third-grade class as their adventures continue. In Horrible Harry Moves up to Third Grade, Harry must again confront Sidney after the boy kills Harry’s pet spider. The lad disappoints his classmates by not dressing as something scary in Horrible Harry at Halloween, and after he explains that he is LAPD Sergeant Joe Friday of the popular television program Dragnet, he is asked to solve a mystery for a distraught classmate. “Harry’s many fans will clamor for this enjoyable story,” assured Booklist contributor Lauren Peterson in her review of Horrible Harry Moves up to Third Grade, while Rochman asserted of Horrible Harry at Halloween that “Harry’s detective work is delicious.”
The kids in Room 3-B take a riverboat field trip in Horrible Harry Goes to Sea, and everything goes swimmingly until Song Lee discovers that Sidney is missing. Harry and Song Lee team up on a class project about dragons in Horrible Harry and the Dragon War, but problems erupt when they discover that they have completely different ideas about dragons. Reviewing Horrible Harry Goes to Sea, Phelan predicted in Booklist that readers will “happily climb aboard” to spend more time with Room 3-B. Writing in the same periodical, Karen Hutt commented that “Kline perfectly captures the difficulties of learning about differing opinions,” and a Kirkus Reviews writer praised the author for allowing her “young protagonists to solve their own problems … with light adult intervention, good intentions, and gentle forgiveness.”
Room 3-B celebrates the winter holidays in Horrible Harry and the Holidaze, but Harry does not seem to be himself. Even friend Doug begins to worry when Harry’s crush on Song Lee appears to have faded. When their teacher finds out that Harry’s great-grandfather has gone to live in a nursing home, she takes the whole class to visit, which cheers the boy up considerably. Other books in the series include Horrible Harry and the Goog , Horrible Harry Cracks the Code, Horrible Harry and the Dead Letters, and Horrible Harry and the Scarlet Scissors , the last which find the third grader hoping to become a television celebrity by creating an amazing art project. “The depiction of Harry’s sadness … is sensitive,” commented Phelan in her review of Horrible Harry and the Holidaze, while Horrible Harry Cracks the Code prompted the critic to noted that Kline’s “simply written” tale pairs with illustrations by Frank Remkiewicz to “vividly portray elementary-school life.”
Song Lee has several books in which she rises from being the object of Harry’s affections to become the focus of the story. In Song Lee and the Hamster Hunt she brings a pet to school and someone leaves the cage door open. “Amusing characterizations, snappy dialogue, and a happy ending” distinguish this book, according to a Kirkus Reviews critic. Although Song Lee is shy, her sensitivity to animals and troubled classmates surfaces in Song Lee in Room 2B, prompting Maggie McEwen to remark in School Library Journal that “Kline has an exceptional talent for capturing the language, humor, and group dynamics of a primary-grade classroom.” In Song Lee and the Leech Man, Sidney tattles on Song Lee, and Harry vows to avenge his friend. When Harry’s practical joke on Sidney fails, Harry ends up falling in the pond, covered with leeches. “Song Lee comes to the rescue and saves the day,” wrote April Judge in Booklist.
Kline’s focus turns to girls in her “Mary Marony” chapter books. In Mary Marony and the Snake, Mary attracts the attention of second-grade bully Marvin Higgins due to her speech impediment—she stutters—but her bravery in capturing the classroom reptile ultimately turns the tables. Parental frustration threatens to derail the girl’s fun in Mary Marony, Mummy Girl after Mary rips up her bedsheet to craft a mummy costume. “Any child who’s been teased (that is, any child) will enjoy Mary’s triumph,” Roger Sutton asserted in reviewing Mary Marony and the Snake for Horn Book, while in School Library Journal, Elaine Lesh Morgan concluded that Kline’s spunky and “resourceful” protagonist deal with both her stutter and “other challenges in a positive manner” in Mary Marony, Mummy Girl .
Readers meet adventurous third grader Molly Zander in Molly’s in a Mess, which is narrated by Molly’s more-cautious best friend Morty and features illustrations by Diana Cain. In her first adventure a tattler causes Molly to get in trouble for accidentally knocking off the principal’s hairpiece. When she and Morty explain, Molly is forgiven, but when she seeks revenge she learns a few lessons about how to treat her classmates and even makes a new friend. Molly returns in Molly Gets Mad as an accident threatens her friendship with Morty. When Molly wins an ice-skating challenge because Morty falls and breaks his ankle, she becomes sullen when no one congratulates her as the winner. Fortunately, the friendship flickers back to life when Morty cheers Molly on during a game of hockey.
A reviewer in Publishers Weekly noted that Molly’s in a Mess “exhibits [Kline’s] … usual flair for elementary school antics.” “The real action here is off the rink,” commented Pat Leach in a School Library Journal review of Molly Gets Mad, and Booklist critic Ellen Mandel praised Kline’s depiction of “Molly’s humorous and true-to-life antics” in the engaging chapter book.
Orville Rudemeyer Pygenski, Jr., is the star of Kline’s “Orp” series of novels for older readers. In Orp he starts an “I hate my name” club during the summer vacation after sixth grade, while Orp Goes to the Hoop finds the preteen attempting to avoid chores by joining the middle-school basketball team. Ultimately, he becomes one of the team’s star players, balancing his new sport with a long-distance romance with a girl named Jenny Lee. Orp’s social life gets complicated in Who’s Orp’s Girlfriend? when two girls at school catch the boy’s eye at the same time that longtime pen-pal Jenny Lee announces that she is coming for a visit. Orp and the FBI finds Orp and his sister Chloe in a surprising competition when they each start rival detective agencies. “Kline’s gentle humor, well-paced plot, and likeable characters” are “just right” for middle-school readers, wrote Booklist contributor Chris Sherman in a review of the “Orp” series, and in School Library Journal, Carol Torrance dubbed Orp and the FBI “a fun addition” to Kline’s entertaining series.
“Most of my stories have been inspired by the classroom, my family and my childhood,” Kline once commented. “Everyday life is full of stories if we just take the time to write them.” Since her retirement from teaching in 2000, Kline has been able to travel from her native New England and devote more time to visiting students in other parts of the United States; as she once noted, “I always take my pocket notebook with me and jot down things that inspire me to write a new story.” For example, she credits “some wonderful custodians and teachers” she met during her career for providing details on story and settings for Horrible Harry and the Goog, an installment in her popular series that finds Herbie’s cat Goog prowling the South School teachers’ lounge, teachers’ restroom, and boiler room.
After Horrible Harry and the Goog, Kline released many other books in the series, including Horrible Harry and the Stolen Cookie, Horrible Harry and the Hallway Bully, Horrible Harry and the Top-Secret Hideout, Horrible Harry and the Battle of the Bugs, and Horrible Harry and the Field Day Revenge. In 2018, Kline released the final installment in the thirty-seven-book series, Horrible Harry Says Goodbye.
In Horrible Harry Says Goodbye, the school year is coming to a close, and Harry and his classmates look forward to finally moving on to fourth grade. Harry learns that he and his family will be moving away shortly after the last day of school. Harry seems unaffected when he shares the news with Doug. Doug is very upset about his best friend’s impending move and is also confused about Harry’s reaction to it. Harry cleans out his desk at school, coming across objects that have appeared in previous volumes in the series. He says farewell to his long-time crush, Song Lee. Harry goes on to bring Doug to his house for the first time. They hang out in his room and discuss their past shenanigans. Harry eventually shows his emotions and sheds a tear when he and Doug finally separate. At the end of the book, Doug is shown befriending a young Syrian boy named Mohammad, who has recently moved to his neighborhood. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews described Horrible Harry Says Goodbye as “a fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its thirty-seventh episode.”
“I think I could go on forever writing about Herbie Jones and Horrible Harry and Song Lee,” Kline once commented. “To me, these series are about family, friendships, and the classroom, three things that are so close to my heart. Most of all, I am blessed with a strong Christian faith, and that has made all the difference in my life.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August, 1985, Ilene Cooper, review of Herbie Jones, p. 1666; December 1, 1986, Ilene Cooper, review of What’s the Matter with Herbie Jones?, p. 579; December 1, 1990, Hazel Rochman, review of Horrible Harry’s Secret, p. 751; October 1, 1992, Hazel Rochman, review of Horrible Harry and the Kickball Wedding, p. 327; August, 1993, Chris Sherman, review of Who’s Orp’s Girlfriend?, p. 2062; November 15, 1994, Kay Weisman, review of Mary Marony, Mummy Girl, pp. 601-602; April 15, 1995, Mary Harris Veeder, review of Orp and the FBI, p. 1500; October 1, 1995, April Judge, review of Song Lee and the Leech Man, p. 316; December 1, 1995, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Mary Marony and the Chocolate Surprise, p. 636; April 1, 1997, Hazel Rochman, review of Marvin and the Mean Words, p. 1334; February 15, 1998, Kay Weisman, review of Horrible Harry and the Drop of Doom, p. 1012; October 15, 1998, Lauren Peterson, review of Horrible Harry Moves up to Third Grade, p. 422; May 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Song Lee and the “I Hate You” Notes, p. 1594; August, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of Molly’s in a Mess, p. 2058; September 15, 2000, Hazel Rochman, review of Horrible Harry at Halloween, p. 241; November 1, 2000, Hazel Rochman, review of Marvin and the Meanest Girl, p. 540; September 1, 2001, Ellen Mandel, review of Molly Gets Mad, p. 106; December 1, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of Horrible Harry Goes to Sea, p. 643; June 1, 2002, Karen Hutt, review of Horrible Harry and the Dragon War, p. 1740; March 15, 2003, Hazel Rochman, review of Horrible Harry and the Mud Gremlins, p. 1327; September 1, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of Horrible Harry and the Holidaze, p. 134; May 1, 2004, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Horrible Harry and the Locked Closet, p. 1499; April 15, 2005, Hazel Rochman, review of Horrible Harry and the Goog, p. 1456; February 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Horrible Harry Takes the Cake, p. 55; August 1, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of Herbie Jones Sails into Second Grade, p. 95; May 1, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of Horrible Harry Cracks the Code, p. 49; February 1, 2008, Carolyn Phelan, review of Horrible Harry Bugs the Three Bears, p. 40.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, October, 1984, review of Shhhh!, p. 29; December, 1985, review of Don’t Touch!, pp. 70-71; December, 1986, review of What’s the Matter with Herbie Jones?, pp. 70-71; May, 1989, Betsy Hearne, review of Horrible Harry and the Green Slime, p. 227; July-August, 1991, review of Orp Goes to the Hoop, pp. 266-267; June, 1992, Roger Sutton, review of Mary Marony and the Snake, pp. 266-267.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 1994, review of Song Lee and the Hamster Hunt, p. 987; September 15, 2001, review of Horrible Harry Goes to Sea, p. 1360; April 15, 2002, review of Horrible Harry and the Dragon War, p. 572; February 1, 2003, review of Horrible Harry and the Mud Gremlins, p. 233; June 1, 2006, review of Herbie Jones Sails into Second Grade, p. 575; October 1, 2018, review of Horrible Harry Says Goodbye.
New York Times Book Review, July 13, 2008, Tammy La Gorce, “Neighborhood Storytelling,” p. L1.
Publishers Weekly, October 30, 1987, review of What’s the Matter with Herbie Jones?, p. 72; September 8, 1988, review of Herbie Jones and the Monster Ball, p. 135; March 3, 1997, review of Marvin and the Mean Words, p. 76; August 2, 1999, review of Molly’s in a Mess, p. 84; November 1, 1999, review of Orp, p. 86; September 25, 2000, review of Horrible Harry at Halloween, p. 65; June 9, 2003, review of Herbie Jones Moves On, p. 54.
School Library Journal, February, 1985, Lisa Redd, review of Shhhh!, p. 66; February, 1986, Joan McGrath, review of Don’t Touch!, p. 76; March, 1988, Dudley B. Carlson, review of Herbie Jones and the Class Gift, p. 192; April, 1989, Hayden E. Atwood, review of Orp, pp. 102-103; December, 1992, Cheryl Cufari, review of Herbie Jones and the Dark Attic, p. 85; April, 1993, Gale W. Sherman, review of Mary Marony and the Snake, p. 98; July, 1993, Julie Tomlianovich, review of Who’s Orp’s Girlfriend?, p. 86; September, 1993, Maggie McEwen, review of Song Lee in Room 2B, pp. 209-210; November, 1993, Cynthia Cordes, review of Mary Marony Hides Out, p. 85; September, 1994, review of Song Lee and the Hamster Hunt, p. 187; December, 1994, Elaine Lesh Morgan, review of Mary Marony, Mummy Girl, p. 77; May, 1995, Carol Torrance, review of Orp and the FBI, p. 108; December, 1995, Suzanne Hawley, review of Song Lee and the Leech Man, p. 83; May, 1997, Elisabeth Palmer Abarbanel, review of Marvin and the Mean Words, p. 102; September, 1997, Carrie A. Guarria, review of Horrible Harry and the Purple People, p. 184; August, 1998, Suzanne Hawley, review of Horrible Harry and the Drop of Doom, p. 142; September, 1998, Linda Binder, review of Horrible Harry Moves up to Third Grade, p. 175; June, 1999, Pat Leach, review of Song Lee and the “I Hate You” Notes, p. 99; August, 1999, Maggie McEwen, review of Molly’s in a Mess, p. 138; February, 2000, Pat Leach, review of Horrible Harry Goes to the Moon, p. 96; September, 2000, Janie Schomberg, review of Horrible Harry at Halloween, p. 202; August, 2001, Pat Leach, review of Molly Gets Mad, p. 155; November, 2001, Ashley Larsen, review of Horrible Harry Goes to Sea, p. 127; August, 2002, Laurie von Mehren, review of Horrible Harry and the Dragon War, p. 159; October, 2003, Eva Mitnick, review of Horrible Harry and the Holidaze, p. 65; November, 2004, Kristina Aaronson, review of Horrible Harry and the Locked Closet, p. 108; July, 2005, Lynda S. Poling, review of Horrible Harry and the Goog, p. 75; May, 2006, Diane Eddington, review of Horrible Harry Takes the Cake, p. 92; August, 2006, Kate Kohlbeck, review of Herbie Jones and the Second Grade Slippers, p. 90.
ONLINE
Suzy Kline website, http://www.suzykline.com (January 16, 2019).*