Kathleen Krull


Kathleen Krull is an author of children's books.
Krull was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in 1952 and grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. She graduated from Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette, studied music at Northwestern University, and then earned a B.A. from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, magna cum laude, majoring in English, minoring in music.
Krull worked as a children’s book editor for several companies in the Midwest. She worked at Western Publishing from 1974 to 1979, where she edited and wrote books in the Trixie Belden series. She moved to San Diego to work as a Senior Editor at Harcourt, editing such authors as Tomie dePaola, Eve Bunting, Patricia Hermes, Anne Lindbergh, Jane Yolen, Arnold Adoff, Amy Schwartz, Judy Delton, and Lael Littke. She left publishing in 1984 and began to establish herself as a children's book author.
She lives in San Diego with her husband, Paul Brewer, a children’s book illustrator and author. Her papers are cataloged at the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection.

Awards

Krull has written some 60 books, most notably biographies. Her award-winning titles include:
In 2011 she won the Children's Book Guild of Washington D.C. Nonfiction Award, an honor presented annually to "an author or illustrator whose total body of work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children."

Selected list of works

Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Harcourt, 1993.
Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women, illustrated by Carlyn Beccia, 2012.
Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Harcourt, 1994.
V Is for Victory: America Remembers World War II, Knopf, 1995.
Lives of the Artists: Masterpieces, Messes, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Harcourt, 1995.
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman, illustrated by David Diaz, Harcourt, 1996.
Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Harcourt, 1997.
Wish You Were Here: Emily's Guide to the Fifty States, illustrated by Amy Schwartz, Doubleday, 1997.
Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Harcourt, updated edition 2011.
They Saw the Future: Psychics, Oracles, Scientists, Inventors, and Pretty Good Guessers, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker, Atheneum, 1999.
A Kid's Guide to America's Bill of Rights: Curfews, Censorship, and the 100-Pound Giant, illustrated by Anna DiVito, Avon Books, 1999.
Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Harcourt, 2000.
M Is for Music, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, Harcourt, 2003.
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, Harcourt, 2003.
The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, Random House, 2004.
A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull, illustrated by Jane Dyer, Walker, 2004.
Houdini: World's Greatest Mystery Man and Escape King, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, Walker, 2005.
Pocahontas: Princess of the New World, illustrated by David Diaz, Walker, 2007.
Fartiste: An Explosively Funny, Mostly True Story, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight, illustrated by Amy June Bates, Simon & Schuster, 2008.
The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, Knopf, 2008.
The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth, illustrated by Greg Couch, Knopf, 2009.
A Boy Named FDR: How Franklin D. Roosevelt Grew up to Change America, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, Knopf, 2011.
Kubla Khan: Emperor of Everything, illustrated by Robert Byrd, Viking, 2010.
Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

Lives of the Pirates: Swashbucklers, Scoundrels, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.

The Brothers Kennedy: John, Robert, Edward, illustrated by Amy June Bates, Simon & Schuster, 2010.
Big Wig: A Little History of Hair, illustrated by Peter Malone, Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011.
Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, Random House, 2011.
The Beatles Were Fab co-authored with Paul Brewer, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, Harcourt Children, 2013

"GIANTS OF SCIENCE" SERIES'
Leonardo da Vinci, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Viking, 2005.
Isaac Newton, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Viking, 2006.
Sigmund Freud, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Viking, 2006.
Marie Curie, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Viking, 2008.
Albert Einstein, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Viking, 2009.
Charles Darwin, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Penguin, 2010.
Benjamin Franklin, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, Penguin, 2012.