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Sparks, Beatrice

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1917 January 15 - 2012 May 25

Biographical History

Beatrice Sparks is an author with Ph.D. in human behavior. She is a specialist in child and adolescent psychology, and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sparks was born to Vivian Johns and Leonard Clarence Mathews on January 15, 1917 in Goldberg, Idaho. She grew up in Logan, Utah the third of five children. She moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA, where she met and married LaVorn G. Sparks. Their family includes four children, and several grandchildren. After attending University of California at Los Angeles and Brigham Young University she started working as an Adolescent Phycologist. She also taught continuing education courses at Brigham Young University, and wrote newspaper columns for the Malibu Monitor, the Santa Monica Outlook, and the California Intermountain News. Her work as an author continued with publishing several books, but she was most notable for her work editing and producing novels from teenage diaries regarding the themes of adolescent drug use, depression, psychotherapy, pregnancy, witchcraft, suicide, AIDS, attitudes, interpersonal communications and intergenerational conflict. Sparks has won the American Library Association Young Adult Notable Award, the Christopher Medal, School Library Journal Best Books, and Quick Pick for Recommended Reading by the American Library Association. She has also served as a judge for the National Book Awards. In addition to her literary work, Beatrice and LaVorn served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1986-1987. They worked on development and launch of the Family to Family Book of Mormon Project.

Citation:
UPB files, October 7, 2015 (spouse name; has four children; tought continuing education courses at BYU; wrote for the Malibu Monitor, the Santa Monica Outlook, and the California Intermountain News; awards won; book themes)

Herald Extra, Via WWW, October 7, 2015 (birth and death date; birth place; number of siblings; grew up in logan; attended UCLA and BYU)

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Beatrice Sparks biographical and personal papers, 1949-1999, bulk: 1970-1999

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2224 Series 1
Scope and Contents note Series includes materials gathered by Beatrice Sparks regarding her career as an author in the forms of letters, photocopied and orignal articles, contracts, and compiled research. The letters are written by Sparks, or her family, publishers, and readers. Many of the articles and research refer to the books she was involved in and their themes, but also columns she wrote earlier in her career. The contracts and business correspondene outline the progression of her books from idea or diary...
Dates: Other: 1949-1999; Other: Majority of material found within 1970-1999
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / MSS 2224, Beatrice Sparks papers

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