Michael O. Tunnell

About Michael O. Tunnell

I taught children's literature at Brigham Young University for many years and have written several books about literature for young readers, including The Story of Ourselves: Teaching History Through Children’s Literature and Children’s Literature, Briefly. Twice I helped choose the Newbery Medal winner, the most prestigious of children’s book awards. My wife, Glenna, and I live in Orem, Utah. We have four grown children and nine grandchildren. We love to travel the world when we can and, in the last few years, have been to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Japan, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, England, and Italy.

I have written picture books, informational books, and novels for young readers of different ages. Many of my books are about historical topics, such as The Children of Topaz, a photo-essay about the Japanese-American internment camp located in Utah during World War II. Other examples include the picture book, Mailing May (illustrated by the wonderful Ted Rand), which is the amazing true story of a five-year-old girl in Idaho who was mailed by parcel post to her grandmother in 1914 (an ALA Notable Book), and the novel, Brothers in Valor, based on the true story of three German teens who resisted Hitler during WWII (A Junior Library Guild Selection). I also have written fantasy, such as my ghost story, School Spirits, and my “Arabian Nights” Moon Duet (Wishing Moon and Moon Without Magic). Wishing Moon received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and won the Utah Book Award. Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot” is another of my history titles. It is a photo-essay about an American pilot who dropped candy-laden parachutes to children during Berlin Airlift. Candy Bomber received a starred review from Booklist, won an Orbis Pictus Honor Book Award and the Beehive Book Award, and appeared on many best books lists. Some of my other books include the picture books Chinook!, The Joke’s on George, Halloween Pie, and Beauty and the Beastly Children, as well as The Prydain Companion, a guide to Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles. The newest title is Desert Diary: American Kids Behind Barbed Wire, which follows day-to-day life in the Japanese American prison camp at Topaz, Utah, through the eyes of several of the young captives.

For further biographical information see the following sources:

Something About the Author, volume 103. Edited by Alan Hedblad. The Gale Group, 1999, pp. 168-173.

The Eighth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators. Edited by Connie Rockman. H.W. Wilson, 2000, pp. 529-533.

Something About the Author, volume 157. The Gale Group, 2005, pp. 247-252.

PICTURE BOOKS

"Pick of the Lists" by the American Booksellers Association
1993 Award for Children’s Literature presented by the Association
for Mormon Letters.

"Pick of the Lists" by the American Booksellers Association
1993 Award for Children’s Literature presented by the Association
for Mormon Letters.

1993 Award for Children’s Literature presented by the Association
for Mormon Letters.

American Library Association Notable Children's Book, 1998
Best Books of 1997 by Crayola Kids Magazine
1997 Parents’ Choice Award
Best Books of 1997 by Child Magazine
1998 Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies,
Selectors’ Choice
1998 Notable Books in the Language Arts
1998 Teachers’ Choices
1998 Storytelling World Honor Award
CCBC Choices 1997 (Cooperative Children’s Book Center)
Outstanding Achievement in Pictures Books,
Parent’s Guide: A Review of Children’s Media

NOVELS

Parents’ Choice 1998 Story Book Recommendation

A Junior Library Guild selection, 2001
Boxed Review, Booklist
2002 Notable Books for a Global Society
(International Reading Association)
Four Star Review, Christian Schools International
Library Materials Guide

2004 Utah Book Award
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Parents' Choice Recommended Book, 2004

INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

Boxed Review, Booklist
Starred review in School Library Journal
1996 Parents’ Choice Award
Starred Review in Brigham Young University Children’s
Book and Play Review
New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age 1997
1997 Notable Children’s Trade Books in the Field of
Social Studies
"Distinguished Title,” 1997 Top Titles for Adult New
Readers, Public Library Association
1997 Notable Books for a Global Society,
International Reading Association
1997 Notable Books in the Language Arts,
National Council of Teachers of English
CCBC Choices 1996, Cooperative Children’s Book Center)
1997 VOYA Nonfiction Honor List, Voice of Youth
Advocates
Four Star Review, Christian Schools International
Carter G. Woodson Honor Book Award, National Council
for the Social Studies

A Junior Library Guild premier selection, 2010
Starred Review, Booklist
Orbis Pictus Honor Book Award, 2011
2011 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for
Young People
2011 CCBC Choice (Cooperative Children’s
Book Center)
Young Adult Choices Selection, International
Reading Association
Top Ten Biographies for Youth: 2011, Booklist
Beehive Book Award, Informational Book Category,
Children’s Literature Association of Utah, 2012