Schomp, Virginia 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born October 2, 1953, in East Orange, NJ; daughter of Russell F. (a bank officer) and Ruth T. (a homemaker) Schomp; married Richard P. Bigness (a retail manager), October 21, 1983; children: Richard P., Jr. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Pennsylvania State University, B.A., 1975.

CAREER:

Pennysaver Publishing, Lake Hiawatha, NJ, executive assistant, 1976-77; Doubleday and Co., New York, NY, production coordinator for creative services in Book Clubs Division, 1977-79; Benjamin Publishing/Marketing Co., Elmsford, NY, assistant to the president, 1979-80, marketing manager, 1980-82, managing editor, 1982-84, vice president and editorial director, 1984-90; freelance writer and editor, 1990—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Cited among top ten reference books of the year, New York Public Library, 1991, for The Better Business Bureau A to Z Buying Guide.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

The Bottlenose Dolphin, Dillon Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Cultures of the Past: Ancient Greeks, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1996.

Exploring Cultures of the World: Russia; New Freedoms, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1996.

Celebrate the States: New York, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1997, 2nd edition, 2006.

He Fought for Freedom: Frederick Douglass, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1997.

Heroic Sioux Warrior: Crazy Horse, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1997.

If You Were an Astronaut, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1998.

If You Were a Ballet Dancer, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1998.

If You Were a Construction Worker, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1998.

If You Were a Veterinarian, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1998.

If You Were a Police Officer, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1998.

If You Were a Firefighter, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1998.

If You Were a Ballplayer, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1999.

If You Were a Pilot, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1999.

If You Were a Zookeeper, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1999.

If You Were a Teacher, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 1999.

If You Were a Doctor, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2001.

If You Were a Farmer, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2001.

If You Were a Musician, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2001.

If You Were a Truck Driver, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2001.

Cultures of the Past: Japan in the Days of the Samurai, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002.

Letters from the Homefront: The Civil War, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002.

Letters from the Homefront: The Vietnam War, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002.

Letters from the Homefront: World War II, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002.

Around the World in 1500, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

Cultures of the Past: The Italian Renaissance, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

Prehistoric World: Ankylosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

Prehistoric World: Apatosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

Prehistoric World: Triceratops, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

Prehistoric World: Tyrannosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

Prehistoric World: Velociraptor, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2003.

American Voices from the Vietnam Era, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

The Ancient Chinese, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2004.

Ancient Mesopotamia, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2004.

Letters from the Battlefront: The Civil War, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Letters from the Battlefront: The Revolutionary War, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Letters from the Battlefront: The Vietnam War, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Letters from the Battlefront: World War I, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Letters from the Battlefront: World War II, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Prehistoric World: Archaeopteryx, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Prehistoric World: Kronosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Prehistoric World: Maiasaura, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Prehistoric World: Stegosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Prehistoric World: Pachycephalosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2004.

Ancient India, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2005.

The Vikings, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2005.

Prehistoric World: Ceratosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

Prehistoric World: Iguanodon, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

Prehistoric World: Ornithomimus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

Prehistoric World: Plateosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

Prehistoric World: Therizinosaurus, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

American Voices from the Women's Movement, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

Drama of African-American History, Volume 2 (with S. Pearl Sharp): The Slave Trade and the Middle Passage, Volume 3 (with Anne Devereaux Jordan): Slavery and Resistance, Volume 4 (Anne Devereaux Jordan): The Civil War and the Coming of Freedom, Volume 5 (with Bettye M. Stroud): The Reconstruction Era, Marshall Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2006.

FOR ADULTS

(With Neil W. Sandler) How to Protect Your Business, Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1985.

The Better Business Bureau A to Z Buying Guide, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 1990.

How to Be an Informed Investor, Mega-Books, 1997.

The Aging Parent Handbook: The Baby Boomer Dilemma, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of "If You Were …" books, p. 1006; October 15, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of "Letters from the Homefront" books, p. 420; April 1, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of "Letters from the Battlefield" books, pp. 1372, 1387.

School Library Journal, March, 2000, Kate Kohlbeck, review of "If You Were…" books, p. 232; March 20, 2001, Lee Bock, review of "If You Were …" books, p. 242; March, 2002, Mary Mueller, review of "Letters from the Homefront" books, p. 257; February, 2004, Mary Mueller, review of "Letters from the Battlefront" books, p. 169; April, 2004, Elizabeth M. Reardon, review of "Letters from the Battlefront" books, p. 180; June, 2005, Carol Wichman, review of Ancient India, p. 186.