Walter

Barbara Wersba was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 19, 1932. After graduating from Bard College in 1954, she studied at the Paul Mann Actors Workshop. Her acting career ended when she contracted hepatitis in her 20s and was faced with a long convalescence.

Her first few books, including The Boy Who Loved the Sea and Do Tigers Ever Bite Kings?, were for younger children. The majority of her books were for young adults including The Dream Watcher, Tunes for a Small Harmonica, The Carnival in My Mind, and Whistle Me Home.

She also wrote for movies and adapted The Dream Watcher for the stage. It was produced at the White Barn Theater in 1975. She was a teacher and mentor to writers, contributed to magazines and journals, and was a frequent reviewer of children's literature for The New York Times Book Review. She died on February 18, 2018 at the age of 85.

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