Name Ben Mikaelsen | Role Writer | |
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Awards Spur Award for Best Juvenile Fiction Books Touching Spirit Bear, Petey, Jungle of Bones, Tree Girl, Ghost of Spirit Bear | ||
Ben mikaelsen speaking to students
Ben Mikaelsen (born December 8, 1952) is a Bolivian American writer of children's literature.
Contents
- Ben mikaelsen speaking to students
- 2013 teen author visit ben mikaelsen
- Personal life
- Published works
- Awards and honors
- References
2013 teen author visit ben mikaelsen
Personal life
Mikaelsen was born in December 8, 1952 in La Paz, Bolivia. The son of missionary parents of Danish descent, he wasn't sent to school until the fourth grade where he was bullied for his race. Mikaelsen moved to the United States with his family shortly before entering the seventh grade, where he encountered further bullying because of his spoken English skills. As a teen in Minnesota, he taught himself to swim and dive, and took flight and skydiving lessons. Mikaelsen attended Concordia College and Bemidji State University.
Mikaelsen owned a male American black bear named Buffy for 26 years until the bear's death in 2010. Mikaelsen considered Buffy a "750-pound member of my family." He has been writing full-time since 1984 and currently lives around Bozeman, Montana with his wife, Connie.
Published works
Awards and honors
Mikaelson's work has won many state youth literature awards, including the California Young Reader Medal and Wyoming's Indian Paintbrush Book Award.