Sharon Draper

Sharon M. Draper is the acclaimed author of the Sassy series. She is also the author of many books for teens, including the New York Times bestsellers Copper Sun, the 2007 Coretta Scott King Award winner, and We Beat the Street. She also wrote Forged by Fire, the 1998 Coretta Scott King Award winner, as well as Tears of a Tiger, winner of the CSK/John Steptoe New Talent Award, and The Battle of Jericho and November Blues, both Coretta Scott King Honor Books.

Ms. Draper explains how she came to write the Sassy series. “Several years ago I met a little girl, an avid reader, who was about eight or nine years old,” she says. “Something was missing in the books available to her. She wasted no time in telling me, "You need to write some books for girls like me!" Sassy was born that day. I wanted to create a little girl with both spunk and sparkle, a child with grace and glitter. Sassy and her seemingly bottomless sack are ready to greet the world with power and pizzazz!”

Ms. Draper is also a professional educator. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year and was selected as Ohio"s Outstanding High School Language Arts Educator and Ohio Teacher of the Year. She holds three honorary doctorates.

She has been honored at the White House six times and was chosen as one of only four authors in the nation to speak at the Library of Congress National Book Festival Gala in Washington, D.C., and to represent the United States in Moscow at their Russian Book Festival.

Ms. Draper is an accomplished public speaker who addresses educational and literary groups of all ages. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and a golden retriever named Honey. Visit Sharon at www.sharondraper.com.

**Themes**

Sharon Draper writes many of her books for YA African Americans. They deal with many issues that teens go through on a day to day bases. Peer pressure, drugs, rape, teachers taking advantage of students, divorce, and intra-communal violence. She writes all of her stories from the perspective of children and young adults. Even her historical fiction writings such as the critically acclaimed Copper Sun and the newer released Stella by Starlight follows this pattern. Another important theme that many of her books share in common is multi-racial unity. Given the current state of the world, this message is very key. Her books touch on themes that teenagers are dealing with, in hopes of giving them tools to navigate

**Criticisms**

There have not been many critiques made about a distinguished author such as Sharon Draper, but everything can use improvements. One critique that has been made about some of Ms. Draper’s writings is that there can be an overload of themes for one book. She bravely tries to take on many subjects matters in one book, in which some critics say they compete rather than compliment each other. This has led to topics such as divorce, and rape being brought up but not always fleshed out in her books.

**In Her Own Words**

**I'm a creator, a** visionary, a poet. I approach the world with the eyes of an artist, the ears of a musician, and the soul of a writer. I see rainbows where others see only rain, and possibilities when others see only problems. I love spring flowers, summer's heat on my body, and the beauty of the dying leaves in the fall. Classical music, art museums, and ballet are sources of inspiration, as well as blues music and dim cafes.

**I love to write; words flow easily from my fingertips, and my heart beats rapidly with excitement as** an idea becomes a reality on the paper in front of me. I smile often, laugh easily, and I weep at pain and cruelty. I'm a learner and a seeker of knowledge, and I try to take my readers along on my journey. I am passionate
about what I do.

**I learned to dream** through reading, learned to create dreams through writing, and learned to develop dreamers through teaching. I shall always be a dreamer. Come dream with
me.

**Complete Catalog of Books**

Tears of a Tiger(Hazelwood High #1)

Forged by Fire(Hazelwood High #2)

Darkness Before Dawn(Hazelwood High #3)

Romiette and Julio

Double Dutch

The Battle of Jericho(Jericho #1)

Copper Sun

November Blues(Jericho #2)

Just Another Hero(Jericho #3)

Out of my Mind

Fire from the Rock

We Beat the Street

Panic

Stella by Starlight

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: The Buried Bones
Mystery

Ziggy #2: Lost in the Tunnel of Time

Ziggy #3: Shadows of Caesar's Creek

Ziggy #4: The Space Mission Adventure

Ziggy #5: The Backyard Zoo Adventure

Ziggy #6: Stars and Sparks on Stage

Sassy #1: Little Sister is Not my Name

Sassy #2: The Birthday Storm

Sassy #3: The Silver Secret

Sassy #4: The Dazzle Disaster Dinner Party

Teaching from the Heart

Not Quite Burned Out, But Crispy around the Edges

**In addition, Out of my Mind has been selected to 32 state reading lists and has won the following state awards:**

* California Young Reader Middle School/Junior High medal

* Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award (elementary)

* Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award (middle grades)

* Illinois Bluestem Award
* Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award

* Missouri Mark Twain Readers Award

* Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award

* Minnesota Maud Hrt Lovelace Award

* Nevada Young Readers’ Award
* New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award

* North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award

* Ohio Buckeye Children's Book Award

* Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award

* South Dakota Prairie Pasque Award

* Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award

* Texas Lamplighter Award
* Utah Beehive Book Award
* Virginia Readers' Choice Award
* Washington Sasquatch Award