Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children's and YA fiction. She loves to garden and bake bread, and even dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist. At various times her house and yard have been filled with dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits. For thirteen years she had a cat named Taxi, and liked to go outside and call, "Taxi!" to make the neighbors wonder. But dear dear Taxi died in 2009. She has five children, seven grandchildren, and currently lives outside Philadelphia. She received her BA in mathematics in 1970 and her Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures in 1973, both from Harvard University, then did a postdoctoral year in Linguistics at MIT. She has since taught linguistics at Smith College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Georgetown University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Swarthmore College. It was at UM that she earned tenure (in 1981) and became a full professor (in 1984). She has held visiting positions at the University of Queensland (Australia), the University of Geneva (Switzerland), Capital Normal University of Beijing (China), the University of Newcastle (UK), the University of Venice at Ca' Foscari (Italy), and the Siena School for the Liberal Arts (Italy) as well as lectured at the University of Sydney (Australia), Macquarie University (Australia), the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), and the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) and held a fellowship at Trinity College Dublin. In the area of linguistics she has authored, coauthored, edited, or coedited 17 books, ranging from theoretical linguistics to practical matters in language structure and use, including matters of interest to d/Deaf people. She has held grants and fellowships from numerous sources, including the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, the Sloan Foundation.
Series
Books
Shark Shock
1994
Know-It-All
2000
The Wager
2010
Fire in the Hills
2006
Pink Magic
2005
Beast
2000
North
2004
Sly the Sleuth and the Code Mysteries
2009
Treasury of Norse Mythology
Stories of Intrigue, Trickery, Love, and Revenge
2015
A Single Pearl
2013
Treasury of Bible Stories
2019
Soccer Shock
1991
The Bravest Thing
1995
The Smile
2008
Friends Everywhere (1)
1999
Zel
1996
The Wishing Club
A Story About Fractions
2007
Language Matters
A Guide to Everyday Questions About Language
2003
Flamingo Dream
2002
Treasury of Magical Tales From Around the World
2021
Rocky
The Cat Who Barks
2002
Left Out (13)
2000
New Voices (12)
2000
Ugly
2005
For the Love of Venice
1998
The Prince of the Pond
Otherwise Known as De Fawg Pin
1994
Daughter of Venice
2001
Hush
2007
Dark Shimmer
2015
The Great God Pan
2003
Mama Miti
Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya
2010
Gracie, The Pixie of the Puddle
2004
Skin
2013
Hidden
2014
Bound
2004
Spinners
1999
Give and Take (5)
2000
On Her Own
1999
Hang in There
2001
Sly the Sleuth and the Sports Mysteries
2006
The King of Mulberry Street
2005
Running Away
2000
Hunger
A Tale of Courage
2018
In a Flash
2020
Hands & Hearts
With 15 Words in American Sign Language
2014
Words to Make a Friend
A Story in Japanese and English
2021
Lies and Lemons (9)
2000
April Flowers
2000
How Hungry Are You?
2001
Alligator Bayou
2009
Treasury of Greek Mythology
Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters
2011
Sly the Sleuth and the Pet Mysteries
2005
Song of the Magdalene
1996
Sly the Sleuth and the Food Mysteries
2007
Hotel Jungle
2004
Shelley Shock
2000
Ready to Dream
2009
Breath
2003
Sirena
1998
Corkscrew Counts
A Story About Multiplication
2008
The Earth Shook
A Persian Tale
2009
Tales From the Arabian Nights
Stories of Adventure, Magic, Love, and Betrayal
2016
As Night Falls
Creatures That Go Wild After Dark
2023
Treasury of Egyptian Mythology
Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Monsters & Mortals
2013
Bobby the Bold
2006
Albert
2001
Mogo, the Third Warthog
2008
Little Creatures
1999
Stones in Water
1997
Jimmy, the Pickpocket of the Palace
1995
Three Days
2001
Crazy Jack
1999
Fish Girl
A Graphic Novel
2017
Lights on the Nile
2011
The Magic Circle
1993
The Crossing
2011
Storm
2014
