Valerie Tripp

Valerie Tripp is the author of over 30 books in the American Girl series, as well as other children’s books. Born in 1951, she had an early interest in reading, and she has used elements of her own childhood, including members of her large family and some of her childhood friends, in many of her books.

Tripp has also written reading textbooks, and has a Masters of Education degree from Harvard University. Her writing career began when she started work in the publishing industry. While she had intended to work as an editor, she was soon asked to write books for educational and literacy programs.

Through her work at Addison-Wesley, Tripp met Pleasant Rowland, the editor who started the American Girl books. Tripp was one of the first writers of the series.

In her American Girl books, Tripp uses historical settings to frame the stories. Her Felicity books, including the award-winning Felicity Learns a Lesson, are about a girl in colonial Williamsburg. The Josefina series centers on a Hispanic girl in 1820s New Mexico, while the Kate series is set in the Great Depression, and the Molly books take place during World War I. In addition to writing these four series in full, she has also contributed to the brand’s Samantha series and the series of books about the girls’ best friends.

Tripp has done numerous speaking and book signing tours, through which she encourages reading and literacy.