Tracey West

Tracey West

Tracey West is an American author who is well-known within the Pokémon community for her novelizations of the Pokémon anime.

Biography

The eldest of three children, West was born and raised in New Jersey. She attended Rutgers University, graduating in English and journalism, before attaining a period of employment with a small publishing company. She considers this to have been a quintessential part of her education. She worked at Scholastic Ltd. for a while, before forming an independent company, Pure West Productions. It was then that she would start writing books for the Pokémon franchise.

West says she was thrilled to write Pokémon books. She states, on her official website, that she is a big fan of cartoons, especially Japanese ones. While writing her novels, she began playing Blue (starting with Squirtle), but didn't get far, blaming this on the fact that writing takes up too much time. All but two of the Pokémon books that she wrote are based on the anime: Race to Danger and Talent Showdown are her own original stories.

Her book, Pokémon: I Choose You!, was listed in the 1999 New York Times Best Seller list. She has also won awards for her other books, including the Scribe Award for the Best Young Adult Novel in 2009 for her book, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 3-D.

In 2005, West married high school friend Bill Hancock. As of 2006, she frequents libraries and schools with presentations about her works and life as a writer.

Bibliography

West has written a range of articles for various newspapers. Her first novel, a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mystery titled Spies and Lies, was published in 1992 under the pen-name Carolyn Keene. Since then, she has published over 100 books, with more than a third about Pokémon.

Pokémon

• I Choose You!
• Island of the Giant Pokémon
• Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon
• Night in the Haunted Tower
• Team Rocket Blasts Off!
• Charizard, Go!
• Splashdown in Cerulean City
• Return of the Squirtle Squad
• Journey to the Orange Islands
• Secret of the Pink Pokémon
• Race to Danger
• Talent Showdown
• Thundershock in Pummelo Stadium
• Go West, Young Ash
• Ash Ketchum, Pokémon Detective
• Prepare for Trouble
• The Chikorita Challenge
• Ash to the Rescue
• Teaming Up With Totodile
• Tough Enough
• Winner Takes All
• Pokémon the First Movie
• Pokémon the Movie 2000
• Pokémon the Movie 3 - Spell of the Unown
• Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea
• Pokémon Holiday Hi-Jynx: Sticker Storybook
• Pikachu's Rescue Adventure
• Pikachu's Vacation
• Pikachu and Pichu
• Pokémon Hall of Fame
• Pikachu in Love
• Togepi Springs Into Action
• Let It Snow!
• The Haunted Gym
• Snack Attack!
• Get Well, Pikachu!
• Catch That Wobbuffet!
• How to Draw Pokémon
• Pokémon Sinnoh Handbook
• Coal Badge Battle
• Destiny Deoxys
• Pokémon Challenge
• Celebi Rescue
• Team Rocket Truce
• Grovyle Trouble
• Time Out For Torchic
• Pokémon 4Ever: The Voice of the Forest Sticker Storybook
• Official Pokémon Pokédex

Other works

Among West's non-Pokémon works include novelizations for Cardcaptors, Samurai Jack, Totally Spies!, Scooby-Doo, The Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon, Super Mario Bros., and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. She has also written several non-fiction books, and an original series titled Pixie Tricks.

Trivia

• West's favorite book is Harriet the Spy.
• Her favorite Pokémon are Jigglypuff and Squirtle. She finds them "funny".
• If she was a Pokémon Trainer, West would specialize in Grass-type Pokémon, believing them to be cute (Oddish, Bellossom) and unique (Bellsprout).

References

• Official website

People, companies, and series related to Pokémon books Authors and illustrators: Akihito Toda • Bill Michaels • Gregg Sacon • Hiroshi Takase • Howard Dewin • Jason R. Rich Jennifer L. Johnson • Katherine Fang • Katherine Noll • Kazunori Aihara • Maria S. Barbo • Michael Mikaelian Michael Teitelbaum • S. E. Heller • Sheila Sweeny • Simcha Whitehill • Tracey West Publishers: Chuang Yi (Singapore) • Golden Books (USA) • Outland forlag (Norway) • Panini Comics (Italy) • Pikachu Press (USA) Scholastic (USA) • Shogakukan (Japan) • Shogakukan Asia (Singapore) • VIZ Media (USA) Series: Element Pokédex • Let's Find Pokémon! • Pathways to Adventure • Pocket Monsters Film Comic • Pocket Monsters Series Pokémon Adventure Series • Pokémon Chapter Books • Pokémon Junior • Pokémon Keychain Books Pokémon Pack Pals • Pokémon Reader • Pokémon Tales • The Official Pokémon Fiction • The Official Pokémon Early Reader

This book author article is part of Project Merchandise, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all Pokémon toys, dolls, books, and collectible merchandise.