Norma Fox Mazer was born on May 15, 1931, in New York City, to Michael and Jean Garlen Fox. Educated in New York, she graduated from the Glen Falls High School, where she was editor of her school paper and a correspondent for the town newspaper. She married Harry Mazer, also a writer, on February 12, 1950, after her first year at Antioch College. She later studied at Syracuse University. Her writing career, largely inspired by her four children, developed through years of writing short stories and articles for magazines and plays for television. These works appeared in such varied magazines as Jack and Jill, Child Life, Top of the News, and Redbook, but her major writings have been critically acclaimed novels for young adults, many of which have earned prestigious awards.

After the Rain won an honorable mention for the 1988 Newbery Medal. A Figure of Speech was...