Gennifer Choldenko
“My goal in speaking is to get kids’ brains firing with new ideas. I want them raising their hands. I want them asking questions. I want them leaving the presentation with a desire to find books that make them feel more deeply themselves.”
Biography
Gennifer Choldenko is the author of the beloved Al Capone Does My Shirts which won the Newbery Honor and was a New York Times bestseller. The book is in its 44th printing. She is the coauthor of Dogtown, and Mouse and His Dog written with the Newbery award winning one and only Katherine Applegate. Both Dogtown books are New York Times bestsellers and Indie bestsellers. Gennifer’s newest novel: The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman, based on childhood memories of her big brother, has four starred reviews, an Amazon best book of the year so far, and a Junior Library Guild selection.
Gennifer grew up in Los Angeles where she fondly remembers sitting on the stairs of the Pickwick Bookstore in Hollywood reading books. She was known for making up peculiar stories and jokes called Gennifer Jokes. Her nickname was Snotnose.
Gennifer graduated from Brandeis University and Rhode Island School of Design. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her loyal husband, her clever daughter, and her sleepy dog.
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