photo by Mary Noble Ours
Welcome! If you’re looking for L. M. or Laura Malone Elliott, you’ve found the right place. I have two bylines—L. M. for historical novels and my full name for the picture books illustrated by the amazing Lynn Munsinger.
Thanks to Chris Hample for designing such an imaginative site—a perfect example of the creative collaboration set in motion by books. Readers and educators add their own thoughts and imagination to my words, making a book a wondrous living thing.
Come on in to learn more about me, my books, the research/ writing process, and some fascinating historical time periods. And adults, there’s plenty for you, too! As commentator Stephen Colbert recently said, “YA books are just regular novels that people actually read.”
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Kind Words
HAMILTON AND PEGGY: A REVOLUTIONARY FRIENDSHIP
Elliott combines a flair for fiction with masterly research... the book presents day-to-day life during the Revolutionary War through the eyes of a young woman witnessing some of its most momentous events. Well-educated and sharp-witted, Peggy is a strong and appealing protagonist.... Elliott does a remarkable job of humanizing important historical figures.
Publishers’ Weekly Starred Review
Peggy is the Jo March of this family. Intelligent and fierce…(using) her razor-sharp wit and cleverness to make her mark….Elliott has accomplished something wonderful here, and this is an absolute must have.
School Library Journal
An engaging novel that navigates the challenge of maintaining historical accuracy while upholding the personalities popularized by the musical.
Booklist
UNDER A WAR-TORN SKY WWII TRILOGY
It’s packed with action, intrigue, and suspense, but this novel celebrates acts of kindness and heroism without glorifying war. A gripping adventure.
ALA Booklist
A powerful novel of adventure and salvation. Readers, young and old, will be moved by this fine book.
Children's Literature
Elliott’s fluid style is woven together with vivid historical details. Fans of history, culture, language, or just good storytelling will definitely want to read this.
BookPage
Gasp-producing action, well-developed characters, and deep details about the privations war brings. Similar to The Book Thief (2006) and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006).
ALA Booklist
SUSPECT RED
This historical novel revisits the anxious, fearful time of the Cold War, when blacklists, political profiling, and guilt by association ruined the lives of thousands of innocent people and deeply divided the nation. Elliott sets the story in 1953, when the Red Scare is at its peak.... A tense, engrossing story that effectively captures the suspicion and paranoia that prevailed during American history's darkest chapters.
Kirkus Reviews
Riveting...Elliott’s technique and methodology are superbly appropriate. She begins each chapter — each month — with a detailed description of actual events; and seamlessly winding through the novel are the associated stories of real people who become important novel characters — Hoover, McCarthy, Nixon, LBJ, and even that most celebrated “Inquiring Camera Girl,” the newly married Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy....Lessons for all of us abound: of the use of fear tactics, of herd mentality; and perhaps most significantly of all, the incredibly difficult task of balancing the virtues of liberty on the one hand with the desire for security on the other.
The Huffington Post
DA VINCI'S TIGER
Elliott’s delicately beautiful novel is thoroughly researched, portraying three-dimensional characters in a lively atmosphere of love and art. Renaissance Florence breathes through this book, bringing readers to a fuller understanding of the portrait, the era, and an indomitable young woman.
Publishers’ Weekly Starred Review
...Elliott meticulously researched the 15th century to bring alive the affluence, art, and clothing Florence was known for—fully immersing readers in the time period. In many ways, this novel is a feminist piece. Ginevra lives during a time in which the only way for women to study philosophy and art was in a convent, and once married, women had little to no formal education, as they became the property of their husbands. Breaking this mold, Ginevra learns that her empowerment comes from within, despite the limitations put on her sex. VERDICT Add this gem to round out collections skewed toward 20th-century history.
School Library Journal
Rich in historical detail, and based on an oil painting located in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., this story reveals much about the life of women in the fifteenth century. Descriptions of well-known works of art, complex societal protocols, and political power plays allow the reader to understand both the beauty and restrictions of Ginevra’s world...fans of historical fiction will find Italy’s Renaissance fascinating.
Lynne Farrell Stover, VOYA
GIVE ME LIBERTY
Elliott’s engaging and highly readable novel is well researched and sprinkled liberally with renowned patriots of the period. Particularly noteworthy is the way in which Elliott handles the paradox of colonial Americans fighting for their independence from England yet clinging to the practice of enslaving other human beings. She does not provide pat answers, and Nathaniel’s inability to reconcile what he sees around him promises to provoke thoughtful discussion. A rich and robust piece of historical literature.
School Library Journal
ANNIE, BETWEEN THE STATES
Elliott's third novel will be devoured by fans of historical fiction. Fiery, intelligent Annie remains a heroine to relish, and readers will find themselves pondering the soul-wrenching questions she asks: ´Had their war been a justifiable one? Could anything justify this much carnage?'
ALA Booklist
FLYING SOUTH
This is both a poignant mother-daughter story and a comforting tale of the affection between a lonely young girl and an irascible but devoted old man. Readers will find poignancy, humor, and history in this story.
School Library Journal
The story is as beautiful as the roses that symbolize the tale of rebirth between mother and daughter. Readers will like spunky, resilient Alice. The setting provides a voice for the social conflicts of 1968 with frequent references to Vietnam demonstrations, Bobby Kennedy’s assassination, Martin Luther King’s influence, and the fragile acceptance of racial differences.
VOYA
PICTURE BOOKS
Elliott sympathetically addresses the prickly topic of peer pressure from a child's perspective. Munsinger's anthropomorphic raccoons are irresistibly cute and cuddly... Elliott does a remarkable job portraying how difficult it is for Hunter to resist Stripe's entreaties and later, not react to his teasing. Readers will readily respond to Hunter's dilemma and be reassured by his ultimate success.
Kirkus Reviews
Munsinger and Elliott sensitively convey classroom popularity dynamics and Valentine's Day butterflies; the moment when Sam realizes that it's Mary Ann he really likes should touch even Valentine's Day grouches.
Publisher's Weekly
Elliott incorporates an array of holiday activities into the story that will be a boon for teachers and families alike: creating placemats from wax paper and autumn leaves, donating to food drives, and making bead necklaces to represent wampum, among others.
Publishers’ Weekly
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