In 1976, Hesse and her husband, who was home from Vietnam, took their pickup truck, some clothing, camping equipment, and two cats, and traveled across the United States for six months. When they drove into the state of Vermont, they knew they'd found their home. They ended up settling in Vermont and live in Southern Vermont today. Hesse and her husband had two daughters, one in 1979 and another in 1982, and motherhood became a priority and a demand on Hesse's time. As a result, she put poetry writing on hold. She did, however, begin to write children's books. Her first attempt was a story about a family's encounter with Bigfoot; the story was never published. Her second attempt began as a four-page story. After revising the story, it became a novel and was published in 1991 as Wish on a Unicorn, her first book. When her children became more independent, Hesse returned to writing poetry. She was rewarded for her efforts in 1998, when she won the Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust, a novel written entirely in free verse.
Hesse shares her writing with the members of her writing group and her daughters, who read her work and provide valuable feedback. She uses photographs discovered during her research, illustrating people who could be characters in the book she is writing, to help her develop realistic characters. Hesse never creates the bad things that happen to her characters; the bad things are true stories Hesse reads about while doing research for her book. Because Hesse writes historical fiction, she usually spends eight to ten months on extensive research for each book she writes. She spends a lot of time reading nonfiction, as research, and children's fiction.
Hesse does not reveal much about herself, but her books, which have received many awards and honors, tend to give her away. Letters from Rifka reveals that Hesse values independence as well as her Jewish heritage, Phoenix Rising portrays Hesse's love and respect for the land, A Time of Angels also shows the importance of Hesse's Jewish heritage, The Music of Dolphins shows that Hesse is willing to take chances, and Out of the Dust portrays Hesse's love of poetry.
Hesse's books are set in a specific place and time, covering serious topics. Her goal is to give her readers perspective, a different angle from which to view and understand life.
