Susan Patron

Susan Patron (born 1948) is an American author of children's books. In 2007, she won the Newbery Award for The Higher Power of Lucky. Patron's first children's book, Burgoo Stew, was published in 1990. It was followed by three more picture books and the book Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe, which won the 1993 Parent’s Choice Award. Recently she published a sequel to The Higher Power of Lucky called Lucky Breaks (Simon & Schuster, March, 2009).
Patron claims to have spent most of her life at the Los Angeles Public Library, both as a child and an adult. She served as their Juvenile Materials Collection Development Manager until her retirement in March 2007. She was a Senior Librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library, where she began in 1972. She reviews children’s literature, has taught and lectured on the subject, and has served on boards and committees in the field including the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. When not at work, Susan writes, reads, and makes flaming desserts. She lives with her husband, Rene, in Los Angeles and in a small cabin in the high desert of the Eastern Sierra of California.