Clare Vanderpool’s first novel, Moon Over Manifest, received the 2011 Newbery Medal for children’s literature. The book is set in the fictional small town of Manifest, Kansas, which is based on the real southeastern Kansas town of Frontenac, home of both of Vanderpool's maternal grandparents. Vanderpool found the rich and colorful history for her book by drawing on stories she heard as a child and researching town newspapers, yearbooks, and graveyards. The story involves murders, orphans, bootlegging, and more. Vanderpool lives in Wichita, Kansas.

links