Lachtman, Ofelia Dumas 1919-

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Lachtman, Ofelia Dumas 1919-

PERSONAL:

Born July 9, 1919, in Los Angeles, CA; married; children: one son, one daughter. Education: Attended Los Angeles City College and University of California, Los Angeles.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA.

CAREER:

Author, 1974—. Formerly worked as a medical stenographer; West Los Angeles-Beverly Hills YWCA, former executive director.

MEMBER:

PEN International, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Sisters in Crime.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Skipping Stones Book Award, 1995, for Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita habla dos veces; Benjamin Franklin Award for best young-adult novel, 1996, for The Girl from Playa Blanca.

WRITINGS:

BILINGUAL PICTURE BOOKS

Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita habla dos veces, illustrated by Alex Pardo DeLange, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 1995.

Big Enough/Bastante grande, illustrated by Enrique O. Sánchez, Spanish translation by Yanitzia Canetti, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 1998.

Pepita Thinks Pink/Pepita y el color rosado, illustrated by Alex Pardo DeLange, Spanish translation by Yanitzia Canetti, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 1998.

Pepita Takes Time/Pepita, siempre tarde, illustrated by Alex Pardo DeLange, Spanish translation by Alejandra Balestra, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2001.

Tina and the Scarecrow Skins/Tina y las pieles de espantapájaros, illustrated by Alex Pardo DeLange, Spanish translation by José Juan Colín, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2002.

Pepita Finds Out/Lo que Pepita descubre, illustrated by Alex Pardo DeLange, Spanish translation by Carolina Villarroel, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2004.

Pepita Packs Up/Pepita empaca, illustrated by Alex Pardo DeLange, Spanish translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2005.

YOUNG-ADULT NOVELS

Campfire Dreams, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1987.

The Girl from Playa Blanca, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 1995.

Call Me Consuela, Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 1997.

Leticia's Secret, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 1997.

The Summer of El Pintor, Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 2001.

A Good Place for Maggie, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2002.

Looking for La Única (sequel to The Summer of El Pintor), Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 2004.

The Trouble with Tessa, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2005.

The Truth about Las Mariposas, Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 2007.

Campfire Dreams was translated into French and German.

OTHER

A Shell for Angela (adult novel), Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 1995.

Contributor to periodicals, including Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, Washington Times, Newsday, St. Petersburg Times, Dallas Morning News, and Detroit News.

SIDELIGHTS:

The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Ofelia Dumas Lachtman is the author of several bilingual picture books for children, among them Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita habla dos veces, as well as The Girl from Playa Blanca and other young-adult novels. In Pepita Talks Twice, the title character, an irrepressible young girl who speaks both Spanish and English, serves as a translator for her family and friends. According to Skipping Stones critic Dick Keis, Lachtman's book serves as "an affirmation of the value of speaking two languages and understanding more than one culture." Pepita returns in Pepita Takes Time/Pepita, siempre tarde, while a troublesome school journalism project is the subject of Pepita Finds Out/Lo que Pepita descubre. School Library Journal contributor Ann Welton observed that Pepita Finds Out, in which the girl interviews family members in hopes of finding an interesting story to share with her class, "has a sound message to impart about acceptance and love of family." In Pepita Packs Up/Pepita empaca, which finds the youngster and her family preparing to move to a new home, "Lachtman's text combines a traumatic event … with the comfort of loving family and neighbors," according to a Kirkus Reviews writer.

Lachtman received the Benjamin Franklin Award for The Girl from Playa Blanca, a gothic romance featuring Hispanic characters. When their father disappears, Elena and brother Carlos follow his trail to Los Angeles, where Elena takes a job at the estate of a mysterious doctor, his gorgeous wife, and their brooding son. "It's hard to imagine a teen who wouldn't enjoy this light read," commented Booklist critic Jeanne Triner. Another young-adult mystery, The Summer of El Pintor, introduces Monica Ramos, a privileged teen who is forced to move into the home of her deceased mother in the Los Angeles barrio. When Monica's neighbor, an enigmatic artist named El Pintor, vanishes, the girl decides to investigate in a story praised as "fast-paced, poignant, and vivid" by Booklist contributor Gillian Engberg. In the sequel, Looking for La Única, Monica becomes the chief suspect when a priceless guitar is stolen from a friend's store, and she sets out to convince everyone of her innocence. "Monica proves herself a smart, strong and resourceful heroine," noted Kliatt reviewer Kathryn Kulpa of Lachtman's novel.

A sixteen-year-old seeks a quieter life after her father dies in A Good Place for Maggie, "a sweet story that will appeal to young people," according to Sherri Forgash Ginsberg in Kliatt. Hoping to escape fast-paced Los Angeles, Maggie Cruz hops into her old Volkswagen and heads to her grandfather's house in Twisted Creek, a remote mountain village. At her new school, Maggie learns that a group of students hopes to modernize their small town, and, despite her misgivings, she eventually joins forces with them against a wealthy family that exerts too much control over the inhabitants of Twisted Creek. According to Ashley Larsen, writing in School Library Journal, "Lachtman animates the story with believable dialogue and likable characters."

The Trouble with Tessa finds imaginative eleven-year-old Tessa del Campo sure that she is destined to become a witch after she discovers some papers containing a series of spells. When she successfully focuses her magic against her bothersome younger sister, Tessa decides to attempt a more powerful spell: wishing her parents would divorce each other. The youngster is horrified, though, when it appears she is unable to reverse her spell's unfortunate outcome. School Library Journal critic Tasha Saecker praised the "likable, spunky heroine" Lachtman creates in The Trouble with Tessa, and Kliatt reviewer Mary Melaugh called the book "an enjoyable story."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Hispanic Literary Companion, Visible Ink Press (Detroit, MI), 1997.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1995, Jeanne Triner, review of The Girl from Playa Blanca, p. 544; August 1, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of The Summer of El Pintor, p. 2107; February 15, 2003, John Peters, review of Tina and the Scarecrow Skins/Tina y las pieles de espantapájaros, p. 1069; January 1, 2005, Carolyn Phelan, review of Looking for La Única, p. 845.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2005, review of Pepita Packs Up/Pepita empaca, p. 1234.

Kliatt, May, 2003, Sherri Forgash Ginsberg, review of A Good Place for Maggie, p. 18; July, 2005, Kathryn Kulpa, review of Looking for La Única, p. 22; January, 2006, Mary Melaugh, review of The Trouble with Tessa, p. 16.

Publishers Weekly, January 23, 1995, review of A Shell for Angela, p. 65; July 20, 1998, review of Pepita Thinks Pink/Pepita y el color rosado, p. 222; June 4, 2001, review of The Summer of El Pintor, p. 81.

School Library Journal, October, 1987, Kathy Fritts, review of Campfire Dreams, p. 150; October, 1995, Anne Connor, review of The Girl from Playa Blanca, p. 134; January, 1998, Sylvia V. Meisner, review of Leticia's Secret, p. 114; August, 1998, Denise E. Agnosto, review of Big Enough/Bastante grande, p. 142; December, 1998, Selene S. Vasquez, review of Pepita Thinks Pink/Pepita y el color rosado, p. 86; January, 2001, Ann Welton, review of Pepita Takes Time/Pepita, siempre tarde, p. 102; July, 2001, Leigh Ann Jones, review of The Summer of El Pintor, p. 110; December, 2002, Ashley Larsen, review of A Good Place for Maggie, p. 143; March, 2003, Ann Welton, review of Tina and the Scarecrow Skins/Tina y las pieles de espantapájaros, and Pepita Finds Out/Lo que Pepita descubre, p. 227; May, 2005, Tasha Saecker, review of The Trouble with Tessa, p. 132; February, 2006, Maria Otero-Boisvert, review of Pepita Packs Up/Pepita empaca, p. 126.

Skipping Stones, April-May, 1996, Dick Keis, review of Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita habla dos veces, p. 7.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1988, review of Campfire Dreams, p. 188; December, 1995, review of The Girl from Playa Blanca, p. 303; December, 2001, review of The Summer of El Pintor, p. 360; October, 2003, review of A Good Place for Maggie, p. 313.