While our two children were still small, I earned a graduate degree in
library science. We moved to Ohio about the time they started to school, and
for five years I worked as librarian at a large elementary school while my
husband got advanced degrees in engineering. Then we moved to
Massachusetts, where I spent the next nine years as librarian at four different
elementary schools. From there we moved back to Texas, and I worked
another dozen years as an elementary school librarian near Houston.
I grew up in a small town in south Arkansas with a brother who is two years older. I went
to public school, played with friends, and spent every summer and Christmas with dozens of
cousins on my grandfather's farm in the foothills of the Ozarks. It was about as good a
childhood as anyone could ever have.
Some people will tell you that you can't learn to swim without getting in the water, but I am living proof that you can.
Our town did not have a swimming pool, but we went to the next town. I had to stay in the shallow end because I didn't
know how to swim. The problem was that I didn't like to put my face in the water. I studied the drawings in that sports
book and practiced in my mind until I could do the side stroke!
Being a librarian was an incredible experience because I got to know
about so many different things. I’m still curious, and that curiosity has turned
into books about history, biography, and science.
After high school, I majored in English at college and took lots of history and education courses. I taught school for a
few years, then married and moved to Texas.
My husband and I still live in Houston. We start each day by doing the puzzles in the paper. Math has never been
my strong subject, but a couple of years ago I challenged myself to learn how to solve Sudoku puzzles. If I'm careful, I
can solve all but the complicated ones.
My parents both earned college degrees, somewhat unusual in the 1920s. Among the books in our house was a set
arranged by topics -- science, sports, history. My favorite was the one with the stories.
in fourth grade
Elementary Librarian