Middle-Grade Biographies
Sally Ride
Life on a Mission
Sally Ride was an athlete, a scientist, a teacher, a writer, and most of all, an astronaut. On a warm, sunny morning in June 1983, Sally made history when she and four male astronauts blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger. After more than two decades of watching heroic men journey skyward, Americans finally saw a woman join their ranks.
Although I never met her, Sally Ride was an important person in my life, a touchstone for the unlimited possibilities for women of my generation. So when an editor friend asked if I’d be interested in writing a biography of Sally, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to understand more about this strong, unassuming pioneer. As I researched her life, I saw some similarities with mine. Both of us were born in the early 1950s. Both of us were tomboys who loved sports and hated piano lessons. Those similarities helped me understand where Sally was coming from, and made me marvel all the more at where she ended up.
Published by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2014 • 152 pages • Ages 8 to 12 • ISBN 978-1-4424-8854-0 (Hardback); 978-1-4424-8855-7 (Paperback)
Bylines
A Photobiography of Nellie Bly
Foreword by Linda Ellerbee
Nina Brown Baker’s book Nellie Bly, Reporter, captured my imagination when I was a girl. This dramatic account of Nellie’s adventures inspired the budding writer in me as much as Louise Fitzhugh’s novel, Harriet the Spy. I still have my Scholastic paperback edition of Baker’s book, and even though I now know that it’s full of factual errors, I cherish it as one of the volumes that set me on my career path.
I relished the prospect of digging deeper into Nellie Bly’s life, and I was not disappointed by what I found. Her investigative reports were remarkable and her profiles of influential personalities were candid and revealing. Nellie Bly helped open up the field of journalism for women, but she also ushered all reporters into an era when the power of the press could be harnessed to effect social change. With fierce determination and admirable skill, she communicated the struggles and challenges faced by her fellow citizens. Writing about her life confirmed what I suspected all those years ago. Nellie Bly is a worthy role model for aspiring writers and everyone else who hopes to make his or her mark on the world.
Published by National Geographic, 2009 • 64 pages • Ages 10 & up • ISBN 978-1-4263-0513-9
Bull’s-Eye
A Photobiography of Annie Oakley
Foreword by Bess Edwards
In college I had a professor who wrote a 500-page biography of the late Russian leader, Josef Stalin. When I accepted the assignment to write my first biography, about Annie Oakley, I was told the book would be 64 pages long. How could I capture Annie Oakley’s life in only 64 pages, especially when I quickly learned there were disagreements about such an essential fact as her last name? (Some people thought she was born Phoebe Ann Moses; others said Phoebe Ann Mozee.)
I did my best to sort out the true story of Annie Oakley, and when there were conflicting “facts,” I made sure to say so. But beyond the year-by-year account of her life, there was one crucial element that I wanted to get across in Bull’s-Eye: Annie’s character. As a celebrity and Wild West star, Annie Oakley worked hard to live up to the highest standards of behavior and fair play. She would not cheat in her performances, and she could not tolerate anyone questioning her integrity. She set out to be a role model and she was, raising vast sums for charity and giving free lessons to an estimated 15,000 women so they could learn to shoot for sport and protection. Those actions say much more about the woman than the correct spelling of her last name.
Published by National Geographic, 2001 • 64 pages • Ages 10 & up • ISBN 978-0-7922-7008-9 (Hardback); 978-1-4263-2218-1 (Paperback)