Judith Viorst (born in 1931) is a multi-faceted American writer, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is known for her humourous observational poetry and for her children’s literature. She was born and raised in New Jersey, and received a BA in history from Rutgers University (New Jersey). In 1981, after six years of study, she graduated from the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute.
Many of her books, for adults as well as for children, have been published abroad. Several of her children’s books have been made into short films.
Viorst lectures widely on a variety of topics, ranging from loss and growth to children’s literature and the subject of control. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her journalism and psychological writings.
Viorst resides in Washington, D.C.
Her works for children include:
- I’ll Fix Anthony, illus. Arnold Lobel (1969), Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-026306-7
- Try It Again, Sam: Safety When You Walk, illus. Paul Galdone (1970)
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972)
- My Mama Says there Aren’t any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things, illus. Kay Chorao (1973)
- The Tenth Good Thing About Barney, illus. Erik Blegvad (1987)
- The Good-bye Book, illus. Kay Chorao (1988)
- Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest, illus. Robin Preiss Glasser (2001)
- Just in Case, illus. Diana Cain Bluthenthal (2006)
- And Two Boys Booed, illus. Sophie Blackall (2014)
* pic credit: By Slowking4 – Own work, GFDL 1.2
