Touching Spirit Bear Ben Mikaelsen

Ben Mikaelsen (born January 5, 1952) is a Bolivian American writer of children's literature.

Ben Mikaelsen was born on January 5, 1952, in La Paz, Bolivia, the son of missionary parents of Danish descent.[1][2] He wasn't sent to school until fourth grade where he was bullied for his race. Mikaelsen moved to the United States with his family shortly before entering seventh grade,[1] where he encountered further bullying because of his poor English capabilities.[3] As a teen in Minnesota, he taught himself to swim and dive, and this led him to take flight and skydiving lessons.[4] Mikaelsen attended USC and Bemidji State University.[5]

When building his home in Montana, Ben adopted an American black bear named Buffy for 26 years until the bear's death in September 2012.[6] Ben Mikaelsen considered Buffy a "750-pound member of my family."[7] He has been writing full-time since 1984 and lives in Anacortes, Washington with his wife, Connie. He has written a few books inspired by his bear, such as Touching Spirit Bear and the sequel Ghost of Spirit Bear. He also took a year out of high school to join a parachute team and compete around Minnesota. He goes around the country visiting schools to teach kids about his life and his experience as a victim of bullying.

• Rescue Josh McGuire (1991)
• Sparrow Hawk Red (1993)
• Stranded (1995)
• Countdown (1996)
• Petey (1998)
• Touching Spirit Bear (2001)
• Red Midnight (2002)
• Tree Girl (2004)
• Ghost of Spirit Bear (2008)
• Jungle of Bones (2014)

Mikaelson's work has won many state youth literature awards, including the California Young Reader Medal and Wyoming's Indian Paintbrush Book Award.

• 1991: Golden Spur, Juvenile Fiction, Rescue Josh McGuire[8]
• 1992: International Reading Association Children's Book Award, Older Reader Category, Rescue Josh McGuire[9]
• 1999: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, Petey[10]
• 1999: Golden Spur, Juvenile Fiction, Petey[8]
• 2002: ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults, Touching Spirit Bear[10]

1. ^ a b Hobbs, Bonnie (July 9, 2012). "'Words . . . More Hurtful Than Fists'". Connection Newspapers. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
2. ^ Cortés, Carlos E. (September 3, 2013). Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, Volume 1. SAGE Publications. p. 380. ISBN 9781452276267. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
3. ^ Malernee, Jamie (February 23, 2002). "Author: Don't Be Afraid To Be Different". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
4. ^ Olp, Susan (April 2, 2002). "Bozeman writer's head full of stories". Retrieved December 10, 2014.
5. ^ Miller, Wanda J. (1998). Teaching U.S. History Through Children's Literature: Post-World War II. Libraries Unlimited. p. 99. ISBN 9781563085819. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
6. ^ Bauer, Jennifer (April 24, 2013). "Ben Mikaelsen draws from the events of his own extraordinary life to bring to life his books for young adults". Inland360. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
7. ^ Mikaelsen, Ben. "Ben Mikaelsen Biography". Scholastic Inc. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
8. ^ a b "Spur Awards Past Winners". Western Writers of America. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
9. ^ "IRA Children's and Young Adults' Book Awards". International Reading Association. Archived from the original on August 4, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
10. ^ a b "Best Fiction for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved December 10, 2014.

• Official website
• Interview at Children's Book Radio (MP3), 2007 audio file
• Ben Mikaelsen at Library of Congress, with 11 library catalog records