Bette Greene

Bette Greene
Greene in her Boston home, 2011
Born	Bette Jean Evensky (1934-06-28) June 28, 1934 (age 82) Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Occupation	Novelist, reporter, screenwriter
Nationality	American
Genre	Children's fiction, young adult fiction
Notable works	Summer of My German Soldier
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Bette Greene (born June 28, 1934) is the author of several books for children and young adults, including Summer of My German Soldier, The Drowning of Stephan Jones, and the Newbery Honor book Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe. She currently resides in Florida.

Greene was raised in Parkin, Arkansas, where she stuck out as a Jewish girl in the American South during the Great Depression and World War II. Her books focus on themes of injustice and alienation. Her book, Summer of My German Soldier, is based heavily on her childhood.

Greene was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Arthur Evensky and Sadie (née Steinberg), but was raised in the small city of Parkin, Arkansas, where her parents ran the general store. Her maternal grandparents were Hyman and Tillie Steinberg who had a successful general store in Wynne, Arkansas. As a Jewish girl in a town of Christian fundamentalists, she experienced discrimination and learned what it was like to be an outsider. Since her parents spent a lot of time in their store, Greene was raised mainly by her family's African-American housekeeper, Ruth, who served as the model for the character of the same name in Summer of My German Soldier.

Just before Greene entered high school, her family returned to Memphis. Although she began writing for newspapers during her high school years and even won first prize in a local essay contest, she received poor grades in English because of her difficulties with spelling and punctuation. After graduation, she spent a year studying in Paris, France, an experience that would later serve as the background for Morning Is a Long Time Coming. After a year abroad, she returned to Memphis and became a reporter for United Press International.