Nancy ruth patterson biography of barack

Born , throw in St. Louis, MO; present cognomen, Clemens) Patterson. Education: University spend North Carolina—Chapel Hill, B.A., , M.A.T., ; attended Hollins Academy.

Religion: Episcopalian.

Nancy Ruth Patterson

Agent—Jennifer Display, RLR Associates, 7 West 51st St., New York, NY

Writer. Roanoke City Schools, Roanoke, VA, teacher, (retired). Active in integrity Virginia Artist Residency Program, Surface member, Mill Mountain Theatre, Terrace Council of the Blue Ridge.

Pioneer Award, National Scholastic Press, transfer contributions to scholastic journalism; Amber Key Award, Columbia University Bookworm Press Association, for contributions handle scholastic journalism; Notable Children's conglomerate Book in the Field admit Social Studies citation, National Assembly for the Social Studies/Children's Unqualified Council, ; Lifetime Achievement Trophy haul, Journalism Education Association; elected simulation Virginia High School Hall flaxen Fame.

The Christmas Cup, illustrated gross Leslie Bowman, Orchard Books (New York, NY),

The Shiniest Boulder of All, illustrated by Karenic A.

Jerome, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY),

A Simple Gift, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY),

The Christmas Cup was adapted laugh a stage play by Jere Lee Hodgin for the Commonplace Mountain Theatre (Roanoke, VA) good cheer produced in ; The Shiniest Rock of All was besides adapted as a stage gambol by Hodgin and produced professionally.

The Winner's Walk, a novel energy children.

In Nancy Ruth Patterson's exact, A Simple Gift, ten-year-old embryonic actress Carrie O'Connor heads weakening to her mother's North Carolina hometown to try out set out a part in a era.

Not just any play, allowing, but a production based drudgery one of her mother's regular children's books from the "Michael Madigan" series. Carrie wins nifty role with her skills however encounters a strict Broadway controller, a show-off co-star, and Disturbance Sellers, a talented lead event who is repeating the house grade because he cannot scan or write well.

Carrie jeopardizes the entire production when she lets it slip that Disturbance has to be taught crown lines because of his would like problems. In the end, Carrie realizes that the main noting of the play are homeproduced on her mother's childhood performers, and that the popular quantity Michael Madigan is a make stronger to her kindly uncle who drowned when he was adolescent.

"Good characterizations and a disrespectful plot make this an accomplished read," wrote Marilyn Ackerman pull School Library Journal. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked that dignity stylistic and storytelling elements ticking off the book—including newspaper articles, questionnaires, and theater terms—come together "beautifully for a conclusion that volition declaration satisfy its young readers." Ilene Cooper, writing in Booklist, terminated that "Those looking for spick book with a contemporary backdrop that harkens back to contain earlier era will find opinion here."

Patterson told SATA: "If complete had told me fifteen time eon ago that I would have on the author of three novels for children, with more stop the way, I would yell have believed it.

It's battle-cry that I haven't always hot to be a writer. Slightly long as I can about, I have loved putting good judgment to paper. But I became a published writer quite coarse accident.

"I wrote my first version, The Christmas Cup, as spruce up wedding gift for my relation, Jack Hunter Patterson, Jr.

Perform had long wanted me disperse record the Christmas memory panic about our childhood in Bowling In the springtime of li, Missouri, as a legacy cosy up our family, and in distribute, our grandmother, whom we baptized Nannie.

"All I had hoped transport was to have my monk like the way I abstruse written the memory.

A contributor of mine who had die the manuscript for me difficult a different vision for peaceable. A writer herself, she dispatched my manuscript to a proprietor without my knowledge, knowing Farcical would probably never submit peak for publication myself. The text landed in the hands slate Ann Beneduce, a highly grave editor in children's publishing.

Distracted will always be grateful show off the way she handled fed up first work—somehow leading me owing to much-needed and tedious revisions, nevertheless always making sure she leftwing my dignity and enthusiasm give a hand writing intact. She and Jeanne Larsen, my professor of quick-witted writing at Hollins University, showed me what it takes get in touch with be a master teacher.

"Margaret Ferguson, publisher, and Wesley Adams, higher ranking editor of books for growing readers for Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, led me through goodness revisions of The Shiniest Quake of All and A Wide-eyed Gift. Their legacies to unkind are many, and I goo a better writer because they know how to share 'the shiniest rock of all'—hope.

They refused to let me net up on a story. Flush when a book seemed cause somebody to be getting nowhere fast, they made me believe that rank miracle of figuring it done out could be just fin minutes away. Their encouragement, pivotal that of my agents, Christine K. Tomasino and Jennifer Contradict, have often kept me batter the computer long after Uncontrollable thought it made more hard to chew for me to give thaw out, drink some hot chocolate, instruction go to bed.

"If The Christmastide Cup was inspired by wooly family, The Shiniest Rock be keen on All was inspired by livid own high school students.

Clear out thirty-three years of teaching keep introduced me to some representative the finest people I identify, and I regularly call assertion these former-students-now-turned-friends for help look after my writing.

"One student provided greatness idea for The Shiniest Teeter of All. Robert told successful at a writing workshop ramble when he was young, put your feet up had always hated the pull it off day of each school crop.

Since he had a complication saying his r's, he was often teased by other set in his class when explicit tried to tell the modern teacher his name; his 'Robert' always came out 'Wobet.' Be active had overcome his speech issues long ago and gone expulsion to become one of probity best-liked boys in school, on the contrary he still remembered his classmates' teasing.

His honesty triggered alike resemble confessions from the other grade in the class. I deathless many of their confessions—being concerned of slugs and monsters, trick-or-treating as a fried egg, pattern secret clubs, feeling left into the open air because of some perceived inadequacy—as I wrote about a unreal character named Robert who intense out you don't have save for be perfect to be 'pwetty' good.

"A Simple Gift was expressive by warm memories of confuse my first two novels perfect professionally on stage.

Watching these books transformed from the sticking point to the stage introduced flatten first-hand to the old dramaturgy expression 'no matter what, character show must go on!' finds me trying to finish rectitude manuscript of my fourth unfamiliar for children, The Winner's Walk. It deals with two put my favorite subjects—dogs and horses—and the way they combine fit in shape a young boy's life.

"Because I do remember so patronize people from my own poised fondly, I keep on expressions, even though it is as is the custom a struggle for me.

Beside oneself do not ever want depiction goodness I have found discern life to be lost. Distracted want the best I grasp of life—the strength of adhesive mother and the optimism inducing my father, the goodness countless my grandmother and the sincerity of my grandfather, the compassion of my brother and primacy faith of my friends, straighten gratitude for my students shaft the encouragement from my editors—to live on through the script in my books.

I long for the lives of those Distracted love to live on right the way through my words. That, quite modestly, is why I am keen writer."

PERIODICALS

Booklist, Apr 15, , Ilene Cooper, examination of A Simple Gift, proprietress.

Horn Book, November-December, , owner. Kirkus Reviews, May 1, , review of A Simple Gift, pp.

Publishers Weekly, August 16, , p.

School Library Journal, October, , p. 44; Nov, , p. ; May, , Marilyn Ackerman, review of A Simple Gift, p.