Andrew Clements

Andrew Elborn Clements (May 29, 1949 – November 28, 2019) was an American author of children's literature. His debut novel Frindle won an award determined by the vote of U.S. schoolchildren in about 20 different U.S. states. In June 2015, Frindle was named the Phoenix Award winner for 2016, as it was deemed the best book that did not win a major award when it was published.

Life

Clements was born in Camden, New Jersey, and lived in nearby Oaklyn and Cherry Hill before moving to Springfield, Illinois as a pre-teen. As a child, he enjoyed summers at a lakeside cabin in Maine where he spent his days swimming, hiking, water skiing, and his evenings reading books. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Northwestern University and a Masters of Arts in elementary education from National Louis University, he worked as a teacher, sharing his love of reading with elementary, middle, and high school students.

He worked for several publishing companies where he published, acquired, edited, marketed, and developed quality children's books. In 1985, Clements added his own work to the market with a picture book entitled Bird Delbert. His first novel was the award-winning Frindle, which has won 16 state book awards, as well as the Christopher Award.

Clements was married to the former Rebecca Pierpont, and they had four sons. He died at his home in Baldwin, Maine, on November 28, 2019, at age 70 from an undisclosed illness.

Awards

The Children's Literature Association named Frindle the best English-language children's book published in 1996 that did not win a major contemporary book award, thus making it the winner of the Phoenix Award for 2016.

Contemporary Awards

2001: Utah Children's Choice Award

1999–2000: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award

1999: Texas Children's Crown Award

1999: Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice, (WA, OR, MT, AK, ID, AB, BC)

1999: South Dakota Prairie Pasque Award

1999: Sasquatch Children's Book Award, (WA)

1999: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award, (IL)

1998–1999: Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 4–6

1998–1999: Young Hoosier Book Award, (IN)

1998–1999: North Carolina Children's Choice Award

1998–1999: Nevada Young Readers' Award

1998–1999: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, (AR)

1998–1999: Maud Hart Lovelace Award, MN Youth Reading Award

1998–1999: Georgia Children's Book Award

1998–1999: William Allen White Children's Book Award, (KS)

1998–1999: Massachusetts Children's Book Award

1998: Prize Cento, Cento, Italy

1998: Rhode Island Children's Book Award

1997–1998: Great Stone Face Book Award, (NH)

1997: Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book (L.A.)Award

1997: Christopher Award

1998–1999 Georgia children's book award

Listings and recommendations

1999: Capitol Choices list, best books for ages 7–10

1998: Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best

1997–1998: Indiana Read-Alouds Too Good to Miss

1997: Horn Book Magazine Fanfare Book

1997: Parents' Choice Honor Book

1996: New York Public Library One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing

Other

2004: California Young Readers Medal, The School Story

2004: American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award, Things Not Seen

2007: Edgar Allan Poe Award for best juvenile book, Room One: A Mystery or Two

2015: Phoenix Award for Frindle