Lynne Rae Perkins

Lynne Rae Perkins, American author and illustrator

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Born: July 31, 1956
Age in 2026: 70
Zodiac sign: Leo
Birth year: 1956

About Lynne Rae Perkins

Lynne Rae Perkins is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Her novel Criss Cross, winner of the 2006 Newbery Medal, is a book of vignettes, illustrations, photographs, and poems about a group of four small-town teenagers. Perkins' picture book Home Lovely was a runner-up for the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Her novel All Alone in the Universe was named an ALA Notable Book, a Booklist Editor's Choice, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, and a Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book for Children.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Lynne Rae Perkins was born

Lynne Rae Perkins was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

#1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
Top TV showI Love Lucy
Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
Defining fadElvis Presley mania
Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Lynne Rae Perkins's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1956	2026
Gas	$0.30	$3.45/gal
Average home	$11,700	$435,000
Average income	$6,500	$67,500
Minimum wage	$1.00	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.50	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	168.1M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.