Sonia Levitin

Sonia Levitin (b. Berlin, August 18, 1934) is a German American novelist, artist, producer, Holocaust Survivor, and author of over forty novels and picture books for young adults and children, as well as several theatrical plays and published essays on various topics for adults.

Her book Incident at Loring Groves (1988) won an Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Sonia Levitin was born in Berlin in 1934 under a Nazi controlled Germany. Being of Jewish descent, she managed to escape persecution by traveling with her mother and two sisters to Switzerland. Her father, a prominent clothing designer, escaped to New York City and then to Los Angeles where he would raise Sonia and her sisters. Levitin would later write several novels about struggling as an immigrant in the United States, these include: The Journey to America and Silver Days, a series about a family of German Jewish refugees who flee the horrors of the Holocaust.

Levitin, always an avid reader, attended University of California, Berkeley in 1952 where she would meet her husband, Loyd Levitin. The two married after only one year. She then completed a degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Levitin began as a publicity columnist for several newspapers, but after her first novel Journey to America became an instant classic, she began to pick up traction as a professional novelist. Levitin wrote numerous novels for young adults that oftentimes featured semi-autobiographical characters. The most common theme of her writing include courageous main characters faced with difficult challenges, who must "take charge" in order to overcome these obstacles. Her books often describe historical events and tragedies, especially toward Jewish people.

...
Wikipedia