Happy 90th, Constance C. Greene! ("A Girl Called Al," 1969)

[leno...@yahoo.com]

She lives in Milford, Connecticut. (Or East Hampton, Long Island, NY.)

About "A Girl Called Al":

"A seventh-grade girl, her slightly fat girl friend, Al, and the
assistant superintendent of their apartment building form a mutually
needed friendship with the usual--and a few unusual--joys and sorrows."

A bit more about the series (there are six books in all):

http://cslchildrensdepartment.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/hidden-gems-constance-c-greene-and-a-girl-called-al/

From "Contemporary Authors":

"So I sent it (A Girl Called AL) to a publisher where a friend's
daughter was a reader. The daughter wrote back and said that although
they liked my book, they didn't think that it was complete. `The
heck with this,' I decided, and wrote Phyllis McGinley, a friend
of my mother's. McGinley had written a lot of children's books and
had won a Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. I asked her if there were
any agents who handled just children's books. She gave me the name
of her agent, Marilyn Marlow, one of the foremost children's book
agents in New York. I sent Marilyn my material. She returned my
manuscript and said that she also didn't think it was complete,
but was interested in my writing. If I finished the book off a
little, she would send it out.

"The first publisher to receive it suggested that I make so many
changes that I left saying, `Oh my God, I don't know what to do.'
Marilyn advised we try someone else. She sent it to Velma Varner
at Viking, who called me in and said, `You've got the bones, just
flesh them out.' That did it for me. I went home absolutely
exhilarated to flesh out the bones. It was the best piece of advice
I've ever heard. It demonstrated the differences between those two
publishers: the first was too wordy and left me discouraged; Velma
had the right touch. She said simply, `Just do this.' It is the
same advice that I now give."

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22constance+c+greene%22&biw=1280&bih=864&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=hWhOVOSbJc2WyATxoIDYDg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=%22constance+c%22+greene&imgdii=_
(some book covers - but no photos of Greene, offhand)

http://www.librarything.com/author/greeneconstancec
(booklist, with short descriptions - you have to click on a title and
then scroll to the bottom)

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8177.Constance_C_Greene
(reviews)

One of her more popular titles is "Beat the Turtle Drum" - about
death. It was turned into a 1977 TV Afterschool Special: "Very Good
Friends." The lead was Melissa Sue Anderson.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0270852/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_1
(about the special)


WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:

A Girl Called Al, illustrated by Byron Barton, Viking, 1969.

Leo the Lioness, Viking, 1970.
The Good-Luck Bogie Hat, Viking, 1971.
Unmaking of Rabbit, Viking, 1972.
Isabelle the Itch, illustrated by Emily McCully, Viking, 1973.
The Ears of Louis, illustrated by Nola Langner, Viking, 1974.
I Know You, Al, illustrated by Barton, Viking, 1975.
Beat the Turtle Drum, illustrated by Donna Diamond, Viking, 1976.
Getting Nowhere, Viking, 1977.
I and Sproggy, illustrated by McCully, Viking, 1978.
Your Old Pal, Al, Viking, 1979.

Dotty's Suitcase, Viking, 1980.
Double-Dare O'Toole, Viking, 1981.
Al(exandra) the Great, Viking, 1982.
Ask Anybody, Viking, 1983.
Isabelle Shows Her Stuff, Viking, 1984.
Star Shine, Viking, 1985.
Other Plans (adult novel), St. Martin's, 1985.
The Love Letters of J. Timothy Owen, Harper, 1986.
Just Plain Al, Viking, 1986.
Isabelle and Little Orphan Frannie, Viking, 1988.
Monday I Love You, Harper, 1988.
Al's Blind Date, Viking/Kestrel, 1989.

Funny You Should Ask (short story collection), Delacorte, 1992.
Odds on Oliver, Viking, 1992.
Nora: Maybe a Ghost Story, Browndeer Press (San Diego), 1993.



Lenona.