Monthly Archive: February 2007

S.E. Hinton, Staying Gold (Plus Two Years)

We’ve been sweating the birth date of S.E. Hinton, the celebrated author of the 1967 novel The Outsiders and other books for what used to be called “young adults” and now are often called “tweens.”Hinton is not a public person by any means, but she’s particularly coy about her birthdate. Many sources say 1950 or 1948; others say 1949 or even 1951. A letter from reader Sebastian Collins (a 1948 proponent) prompted us to dig into the matter somewhat deeper.

Groundhog vs. the United Nations?

Punxsutawney Phil has made his annual Groundhog Day prediction, and it’s a shocker: spring is almost here. The ageless groundhog failed to see his shadow (according to his official site) for only the 14th time since 1886.