| PROFILE | BOOKS | LINKS |
Sheila Wood Foard When I was a girl, I loved books. My dad loved them, too. Together we wandered through the children's section of the public library, and he helped me check out interesting books.
One year, he asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I said, "Books!" Santa brought me seventeen Cherry Ames books. Cherry Ames was the heroine of a mystery series, like Nancy Drew, only Cherry was a nurse. She was smart, confident, hardworking, and pretty, although she looked different on every colorful book jacket. I read and cherished all those mysteries until I was a teenager. Then I gave them to a younger girl.
When I grew up, I wanted to learn to be a writer. I was an English teacher, so I asked to teach a creative writing class. It was great fun to teach teenagers to write stories. As I prepared the lessons, I was my own best student.
My students won many writing awards and saw their stories printed in teen literary magazines. I sent my writing to editors, too. Pretty soon, I had quite a few stories, articles, and poems in Highlights for Children, Cricket, Spider, Ladybug, Cicada, Hopscotch for Girls, Wee Ones, Nature Friend, Byline, Country Home, Albuquerque Journal, Missouri Conservationist for Kids, and lots more.
I also wrote books. Now I have two books in print (HARVEY GIRL and DIEGO RIVERA) along with a Junior Ranger Activity Booklet that I wrote for a Missouri National Park (Ozark National Scenic Riverways).
Today, I'm still writing, teaching writing, and helping new writers get published. I still love books. I even collect children's books. And guess what! I own twenty Cherry Ames books, which I bought at used bookstores. I read them when I want to remember how I felt when I was a girl.
 HARVEY GIRL
Middle grades. Ride the rails with fourteen-year-old Clara Fern Massie as she runs away from her Ozark home to become a waitress (a Harvey Girl) in New Mexico and at Grand Canyon. Clara meets movie stars, famous suffragists, cowboys, and Indians, while secrets and lies threaten to send her home. Amazon.com review by Seadragon (aka writer Linda Herman)
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 DIEGO RIVERATeen-Young Adult. Paint gigantic murals with Diego Rivera, the Mexican artist who was called pintor magnifico (magnificent painter) by his countrymen. See how Rivera created colorful frescoes of cars being assembled in Detroit, Indians celebrating their heritage, and heroes and villains living their history in Mexico. Laugh at Rivera's humor. Enjoy his art.
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 JUNIOR RANGER ACTIVITIES BOOKLET(Ozark National Scenic Riverways) Do these fun activities! Play it safe on two Ozark rivers. Name a Missouri spring. Cipher and spell in a one-room school. Find hidden shapes in a natural cave. Do the Cave Critter Crawl. Write an Ozark tall tale. And work the CCC Crossword to get a Junior Ranger Badge! |
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