BOOKSHELF CONTINUED [ 2 OF 2]

Madison and Myles

Laura Dower '89

Laura Dower ’89 keeps the best advice that she’s ever received in a prominent place above the desk where she writes. The coffee-stained file card, dated by her College adviser, Professor Edward Taylor, has been framed to remind her: “Trust Laura and her perceptions of things.”

An English major at the College with a penchant for theater, Dower always remembered that advice, and it has helped her become a remarkably prolific author of children’s books with more than three dozen titles to her credit — all published since 1999. “In the past 10 years, there’s been a real explosion in kids publishing,” she said. “It’s exciting.”

Born in the Boston area, Dower grew up in New York reading Judy Blume books. When her parents decided to leave the city, Dower became determined to attend Columbia and continue her exploration of the diversity the College and New York City had to offer.

After graduation, she spent about a year working as a receptionist while trying to decide what she really wanted to do. Answering an ad in The New York Times, Dower landed a job at Bantam Books and moved through various positions in the company, gathering skills and discovering a love for children’s books. She moved to Scholastic, where she advanced to become creative director.

Having spent several years marketing other writers’ books, Dower wondered if she could use her own creative abilities to write children’s books. She lined up freelance writing and editing work and quit her job. In 1999, she was rewarded with the release of her first book, Scooby-Doo’s Guide to Life: Just Say “Ruh-roh!” (Little Apple).

Since then, Dower has completed almost 40 more books, including a number about The Powerpuff Girls, based on the television series created by Craig McCracken, and Dower’s own series, The Files of Madison Finn. “I wanted to see if I could write a middle-grade series,” Dower says, explaining the origin of Madison Finn. “In a perfect world, I probably would have taken more time to set up my characters, but now I love them.”

Dower writes a new book about every other month, and at least four Madison Finn books and two Powerpuff Girls books are already scheduled to be released in 2003. “The limited time [I have] to write is a challenge to myself,” Dower says. “You have to be prolific but not formulaic.”

Dower is most proud of her book for grieving teens, I Will Remember You: What to Do When Someone You Love Dies (Scholastic Trade, 2001). The guidebook to coping with loss includes personal stories from real teens, advice from a renowned grief counselor, a history of grieving in different cultures and worksheets for kids to complete.

Based in Yonkers, N.Y., Dower’s projects include starting www.lauradower.com; www.madisonfinn.com already is up and running. Her greatest task, though, is caring for her first child with the help of her husband, Richard. Dower says that her 8-month-old son, Myles, has given her a whole new perspective, which she suspects will become inspiration for a new series.

L.B

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