Presenting William Sleator

Considered one of the virtuosos of young adult fiction, William Sleator has been delighting youthful readers since the publication of his first picture book for children in 1970. Sleator's characteristic blend of suspense and science fiction has particular appeal to adolescent audiences, who have been captivated by his emphasis on aliens, time and space travel, and his interest in both the scientific and the supernatural. Drawn in by sensitive, offbeat, and sympathetic young characters, teen readers find themselves identifying with ordinary people tangled up in extraordinary and suspenseful situations. The novels have readers "hanging by the skin of their teeth," as one reviewer wrote of Sleator's most famous work, House of Stairs (1974), in which six adolescents find themselves locked in a maze of stairs leading nowhere. In his private life, Sleator is as interesting as his books; for a number of years he held the position of rehearsal pianist for the Boston Ballet, traveling the world with the ballet and eventually composing three ballets for the company. Thus far, Sleator has written 16 books for young adults and children, including The Angry Moon, his first book for a juvenile audience, and the well-known Interstellar Pig (1984). He has been awarded a Caldecott Honor and a California Young Reader's Medal, among other honors.
Husband and wife joint authors James and Hazel Davis take a personal and biographical approach to Sleator's work, drawing out the author's motivations for creating his fictional characters and situations. His interest in science and preoccupation with the "unreal" inform his fiction, and give young people an adult role model with whom they can identify. The Davises also explore Sleator's unique relationship with his editor and mentor, Ann Durell, who has greatly influenced Sleator's work. By exploring this writer/editor relationship, the authors provide a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the creative process. Best of all, they have benefited from extensive interviews with Sleator, whose wry wit appears throughout the book, explaining his fascination with imagined words and his empathy with young people. Presenting William Sleator is the first book-length study of this innovative and offfbeat talent in young adult fiction. It will be an excellent addition to junior high school and high school libraries and curricula for reluctant readers, as well as reading education programs for teachers in training.