Jim Murphy

Two-time Newbery Honor Book author Jim Murphy’s childhood consisted of thousands of baseball games with neighborhood kids, roaming the vast New Jersey Meadowlands and inventing various "adventures." Jim didn't have much time for or interest in reading - until a teacher named a book the students were absolutely forbidden to read. Naturally, he read it at once and was hooked on books. After attending Rutgers University and doing graduate work at Radcliffe College, Jim got a job in juvenile publishing. He then left to devote himself to his own writing, and published his first book, Weird and Wacky Inventions, in 1978.

Jim’s varied interests, his voracious appetite for reading about subjects he finds interesting, and his immense skill as a researcher have helped him create a wide range of entertaining, provocative and multi-layered books for young readers. Jim is the author of more than 30 books about American history. Jim lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, in a hundred-year-old house with his wife, two energetic and playfully squabbling sons, an African water frog, six guppies, and a vast collection of books. Jim Murphy’s website, Jim Murphy has information on his books, information about his life, a question & answer area, and a lesson plan for his work Desperate Journey.