Short Biography:
Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children’s fiction.
She is married to a professor of Health Law. Here he is below in the west, just before throwing that beauty back into the river. And here he is to the right, in the glory of a national park. And below that waiting for Donna Jo at her office.
Below is a hedgehog and a donkey that Barry and Donna Jo met in Geneva, Switzerland.
Donna Jo has five children and nine grandchildren. She dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist. She loves to garden, bake bread, dance, and make pottery.
At various times her house and yard have been filled with dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. For thirteen years she had a cat named Taxi, and liked to go outside and call, “Taxi!” to make the neighbors wonder. But dear dear Taxi died in 2009.
Taxi lives on, however, as a character in the SLY THE SLEUTH series. Above is a picture of the old, real Taxi.
Below are foxes that have lived in Barry and Donna Jo’s yard at various times. Someday Donna Jo hopes to write a fox book.
Donna Jo’s novel BEAST (2000) took place in Persia in 1500. It was translated into Farsi, the language of Iran (the land we used to call Persia). Because of this, in February and March, 2005, Donna Jo got invited to Iran, to give a talk at a children’s literature festival. You can read about that visit by clicking here.