“A
good book ought to bring out lots of different responses from those that read
it - none of them pre-planned, and all of them very personal. Whatever they
take away from the reading of the book is valuable.“
– Sharon Draper
Born on this date in 1948, Draper is
not only an award-winning writer but also the 1997 National Teacher of the
Year, a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for books about the
African-American experience, and winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award from
American Library Association for her body of work that has made a
"significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.”
Best known for the Hazelwood and
Jericho series and for her historical novel Copper Sun, she also is an
accomplished public speaker who addresses educational and literary groups of
all ages, both nationally and internationally, discussing literature, reading
and education.
A native of Cleveland, OH, she
studied at Pepperdine University in California and now makes her home in
Cincinnati, where she maintains her membership in the National Council of
Teachers of English and is the mother of 12 children. 
“I learned to dream through reading,
learned to create dreams through writing, and learned to develop dreamers
through teaching,” she said. “I shall
always be a dreamer.”
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