The Secret Life of the Skunk

Laurence Pringle was raised on an isolated farm in western New York. He studied wildlife biology at Cornell University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and had begun to seek a doctorate in that field. But for several reasons, including trouble with some subjects, Pringle decided to switch to journalism.

In 1962, he was looking for a job as an editor and writer with an outdoor or science magazine. He found an opening with Nature and Science, a children's magazine published by The American Museum of Natural History. Pringle joined that magazine in early 1963 and during the seven years of that magazine's life, learned a lot about writing for young readers. His friend and editor at the magazine encouraged Pringle to write a book for children. His first manuscript was rejected by several publishers but was finally accepted and published in 1968.

When Nature and Science was disbanded in the spring of 1970, Pringle had two choices: look for another editing job or try to survive as a freelance writer. He chose to become a writer and is now the highly acclaimed author of over a hundred books. He writes mainly biographical and environmental stories for children and young adults.

Pringle is the recipient of two major awards for his body of writing; the Eva L. Gordon Award for Children's Science Literature and the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award in 1999. He has won national awards from the American Nature Study Society and the National Wildlife Federation. Many of his books, including Everybody Has a Bellybutton, have been cited by the National Science Teacher's Association/Children's Book Council as "Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children." In 1998, the National Council of Teachers of English selected his book An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly for the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.

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