Draper, Sharon M. 1948-

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Draper, Sharon M. 1948-

Personal

Born August 21, 1948, in Cleveland, OH; daughter of Victor D. (a hotel manager) and Catherine (an administrative assistant) Mills; married Larry E. Draper (an educator); children: Wendy, Damon, Crystal, Cory. Ethnicity: "African American." Education: Pepperdine University, B.A., 1971; Miami University (Oxford, OH), M.A. Hobbies and other interests: Reading; "I won't read junk; there's no time to waste on poorly written books."

Addresses

Office—P.O. Box 36551, Cincinnati, OH 45236. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Public speaker, poet, educator, and author. Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati, OH, English teacher and head of department, 1972-2005; Mayerson Academy, associate; former Duncanson artist-in-residence at Taft Museum. Member of board, National Commission on Teaching and America's Future; member, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Lecturer and presenter at schools and other venues. Guest on radio and television programs.

Member

International Reading Association, American Federation of Teachers, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (member of board of directors, 1995—), National Council of Teachers of English, Top Ladies of Distinction, Links, Inc., Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, Conference on English Leadership, Delta Kappa Gamma, Phi Delta Kappa, Women's City Club.

Awards, Honors

First prize, Ebony Literary Contest, 1991, for short story "One Small Torch"; Coretta Scott King Genesis Award, American Library Association (ALA), Best Book for Young Adults designation, ALA, Best Books designation, Children's Book Council (CBC)/Bank Street College, Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library, and Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies designation, National Council for the Social Studies, all 1995, all for Tears of a Tiger, and all 1998, all for Forged by Fire; named Outstanding High School English Language Arts Educator, Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, 1995;

Midwest regional winner, National Council of Negro Women Excellence in Teaching Award, 1996; Ohio Governor's Educational Leadership Award, 1996; named National Teacher of the Year, 1997; ALA Best Book designation, International Reading Association (IRA) Notable Book designation, and Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library, all 2000, all for Romiette and Julio; IRA Children's Choice designation, 2001, and IRA Young-Adult Choice selection, 2003, both for Darkness before Dawn; CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book designation, and named among ALA Top Ten Sports Books for Youth, both 2003, both for Double Dutch; Coretta Scott King Honor Book designation, and Books for the Teen Age designation, New York Public Library, both 2004, and IRA Young-Adult Choice designation, 2005, all for The Battle of Jericho; Coretta Scott King Award, Notable Social Studies Trade Book designation, CBC/National Council of Social Studies, Heartland Award, IRA Notable Book for a Global Society designation, NAACP Image Award nomination, and Ohioana Award for Young Adult Literature, all 2007, all for Copper Sun; Coretta Scott King Honor Book designation, 2008, for November Blues; Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award; named YWCA Career Woman of Achievement; Dean's Award, Howard University School of Education; Pepperdine University Distinguished Alumnus Award; Marva Collins Education Excellence Award; named Ohio State Department of Education Pioneer in Education. Honorary degrees include D.H.L, College of Mount Saint Joseph, and D.H., Cincinnati State University.

Writings

FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Tears of a Tiger ("Hazelwood High Trilogy"), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1994.

Forged by Fire ("Hazelwood High Trilogy"), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

Romiette and Julio, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

Jazzimagination, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

Darkness before Dawn ("Hazelwood High Trilogy"), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

Double Dutch, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

The Battle of Jericho ("Jericho" trilogy), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Copper Sun, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2006.

November Blues ("Jericho" trilogy), Atheneum (New York, NY), 2007.

Fire from the Rock, Dutton (New York, NY), 2007.

Sassy: Little Sister Is Not My Name, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2009.

Just Another Hero ("Jericho" trilogy), Atheneum (New York, NY), 2009.

"ZIGGY AND THE BLACK DINOSAURS" SERIES; FOR CHILDREN

The Buried Bones Mystery, Just Us Books (East Orange, NJ), 1994.

Lost in the Tunnel of Time, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, Just Us Books (East Orange, NJ), 1996.

Shadows of Caesar's Creek, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, Just Us Books (East Orange, NJ), 1997.

The Space Camp Adventure, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, Aladdin (New York, NY), 2006.

The Backyard Animal Show, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, Aladdin (New York, NY), 2006.

Stars and Sparks on Stage, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, Aladdin (New York, NY), 2006.

OTHER

Teaching from the Heart: Reflections, Encouragement, and Inspiration, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 2000.

Not Quite Burned out but Crispy around the Edges: Inspiration, Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 2001.

(Coauthor) Sampson, Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt, We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success, Dutton (New York, NY), 2005.

Also author of Let the Circle Be Unbroken (children's poetry), and Buttered Bones (poetry for adults). Contributor of poems and short stories to literary magazines; contributor of essay "The Touch of a Teacher" to What Governors Need to Know about Education, Center for Policy Research of the National Governor's Association.

Adaptations

All Draper's books have been recorded on audiocassette by Recorded Books, including Double Dutch, read by Patricia R. Floyd, 2002; The Battle of Jericho, read by J.D. Jackson, 203; Romiette and Julio and Darkness before Dawn, both read by Sisi Aisha Johnson, 2003; and Copper Sun, read by Myra Lucretia Taylor, 2006.

Sidelights

Sharon M. Draper is a nationally award-winning teacher and writer whose books include Forged by Fire, Romiette and Julio, Darkness before Dawn, the Coretta Scott King Award-winning Copper Sun, and the easy-reading "Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs" mystery series. Reading, teaching, and writing are all connected for Draper, who wanted to be a teacher since childhood. As she once told an interviewer, "I was an avid reader. I read every single book in the elementary school library, all of them. I did not plan to be a writer until much, much later. I tell students all the time that in order to be a good writer it is necessary first to be a good reader. You need some information in your head. Reading is input. Writing is output. You can't write without input."

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Draper was the eldest of three children raised in a family where education was a given. The question was not "would you attend college, it was where and to study what," Draper explained in her interview. She entered Cleveland Public Schools in the 1950s, inspired by a home where she was surrounded by books. Her mother read stories, poems, fairytales, and nursery rhymes to Draper and her siblings from the time they were very young. She recalled a teacher who once "gave me O's for outstanding, saying an A wasn't good enough." A fifth-grade teacher introduced Draper and her fellow students to poetry by Langston Hughes and Robert Frost, and they also read and loved Shakespeare. "We didn't know we weren't supposed to be able to do that in fifth grade. She gave it to us and we loved it," Draper said. "It was part of making me the teacher I am today."

Draper attended Pepperdine University as a National Merit scholar, majoring in English. Upon graduation in 1971, she returned to Ohio where she married and assumed a teaching position in the Cincinnati Public Schools. Her many years teaching public school has given her some definite ideas on the reading habits of teens. "I know what kids like—what they will read, and what they won't. Although I have nothing against Charles Dickens, many teenagers would rather gag than read him. Dickens wrote for his contemporaries—young people of a hundred and fifty years ago. American students might need to know about the world of London in the 1860s, but they would much rather read about their own world first. Not only will they read about recognizable experiences with pleasure, but they will also be encouraged to write as well."

According to an essayist in the St. James Guide to Young-Adult Writers, "Draper's works address the problems African Americans face in a predominantly white society, specifically stereotyping of black males. They also examine the dynamics of African American families and communities. Her … fiction is energetic and intense, as characters become self aware and attain emotional growth. She often creates mystery plots as a means for characters to be introspective and explore their identities. She sets her books in Cincinnati where she lives and teaches, suggesting a familiarity with her characters and community that enhances their realism."

Draper's first young-adult novel, and the first volume in her "Hazelwood High" trilogy, Tears of a Tiger recounts

the story of Andy Jackson, a black youth who struggles to make sense of the death of his best friend, Robert, in an automobile accident in which Andy was the driver. The two teens had been drinking beer with their friends Tyrone and B.J. in celebration of a victory by their high-school basketball team. Tyrone and B.J. are able to move past the awful pain caused by the accident, Tyrone by finding support from his girlfriend Rhonda, and B.J. through religion. Andy, however, is wracked with guilt, grief, and pain that do not subside with time.

In Tears of a Tiger Draper depicts the difficulties in healing emotionally through the character of Andy, and through him she also addresses the institutional attitudes confronting young black males. In one episode, for example, teachers discuss how Andy's grief cannot be all that serious since he is African American. The teen also internalizes ideas about himself that prevent him from realizing his full capabilities; for example, he believes he cannot be successful academically because he is a basketball player. Merri Monks, writing in Booklist, observed that "Andy's perceptions of the racism directed toward young black males—by teachers, guidance counselors, and clerks in shopping malls—will be recognized by African American YAs." Draper's use of news stories, journal entries, homework assignments, and letters give the novel an immediacy that adds to its power.

Kathy Fritts, reviewing Tears of a Tiger for School Library Journal, pointed out that in Draper's "moving novel" "the characters' voices are strong, vivid, and ring true," while Monks remarked that the work's "characters and their experiences will captivate teen readers." In Publishers Weekly, a reviewer concluded of Tears of a Tiger that "the combination of raw energy and intense emotions should stimulate readers," and Dorothy M. Broderick wrote in Voice of Youth Advocates: "Suffice to say, not only is Draper an author to watch for, but that this is as compelling a novel as any published in the last two decades." Roger Sutton, reviewing Tears of a Tiger for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, stated that, "rather than a tidy summary of suicide symptoms and ‘ways to help,’ readers instead get a grave portrait of unceasing despair and a larger picture of how young African-American men like Andy get lost in a system that will not trust or reach out to them." Tears of a Tiger received several honors, including the Coretta Scott King Genesis Award.

Forged by Fire, the sequel to Tears of a Tiger, is also grounded in socially relevant themes. Child sexual abuse and drug addiction replace suicide and racism, yet both books reach a tragic finality. Draper wrote Forged by Fire's first chapter as a short story, "One Small Torch," which she published in Ebony. The novel went on to win Draper her second Coretta Scott King Award.

A minor character in Tears of a Tiger, Gerald Nickelby, is the focus of Forged by Fire. At age three Gerald was burned in a fire after being left alone by his mother,

Monique. Following his hospital stay, Gerald goes to live with Aunt Queen, a loving and supportive woman. Six years later, following Aunt Queen's death, Monique reenters her son's life. Monique has married Jordan Sparks, the father of Angel, Gerald's new half-sister. Gerald soon learns that Sparks has sexually abused Angel and through the testimony of the children, Sparks is sent to prison. When Sparks returns six years later, Monique, who indulges too much in drugs, lets him return to family life where he once again attempts to sexually harm his young daughter.

Tom S. Hurlburt, reviewing Forged by Fire for School Library Journal, wrote that although there is "no all's-well ending, … readers will have hope for Gerald and Angel, who have survived a number of gut-wrenching ordeals by relying on their constant love and caring for one another." Candace Smith, writing in Booklist, concluded that "Draper faces some big issues (abuse, death, drugs)" in her novel "and provides concrete options and a positive African American role model in Gerald."

In Darkness before Dawn, which concludes the "Hazelwood High" trilogy, Draper tells the story of high schooler Keisha Montgomery, who has just lost her ex-boyfriend to suicide and must now deal with an overly aggressive track coach. Debbie Carton, reviewing the novel for Booklist, wrote that "the graduation scene, in which class president Keisha gives the closing speech, is moving and triumphant, showing Draper and her vibrant characters at their best." While Angela J. Reynolds observed in School Library Journal that "readers may be overwhelmed by the soap-opera feel of this issue-laden world," Odette Cornwall concluded in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy that "not only did Draper make Keisha real, but she also wove many prominent social issues faced by young adults today into the story line."

Draper begins another series with The Battle of Jericho. Here readers meet sixteen-year-old cousins Josh and Jericho Prescott as they decide to pledge the popular Warriors of Distinction fraternity at Frederick Douglass High. During pledge week the Warriors' hazing gets out of control, with tragic results. Although Ilene Cooper wrote in Booklist that the characters' dialogue sounds "stilted" due to Draper's decision to avoid profanity, The Battle of Jericho involves "a timely scenario" that finds "middle-class African American kids … put into a situation that many young people face": the need to fit in, no matter what the cost. Draper effectively "conveys the seductive power of teen clubs and the dangers of hazing rituals in this timely novel," concluded a Publishers Weekly contributor.

A sequel to The Battle of Jericho, November Blues, examines the aftermath of Josh's tragic death, as Jericho and Josh's girlfriend, November Nelson, attempt to come to terms with life without him. For November, a promising high-school senior, their brief relationship has left her pregnant with Josh's child and a decision that will decide the course of her future. Anne Rouyer predicted in her School Library Journal review that teens will appreciate Draper's "accurate and sympathetic portrayal of urban teens" and "the straightforward way that the author presents the issues they face." November Blues "is well-plotted, realistic and matter-of-fact," noted a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic adding that Draper's characters "are well-drawn" and "likeable." "Along with the serious issues, teens will appreciate the fast, funny contemporary dialogue …," wrote Booklist critic Hazel Rochman, "and also the view of the [perfect] girl who … screws up big time."

One of several stand-alone novels by Draper, Double Dutch concerns a group of eighth graders with serious problems. Delia is unable to read and does not want anyone to find out; her friend Randy fears that his father has deserted the family; and the violent Tolliver twins scare their new classmates. "Draper adeptly paints a convincing portrayal of how young people think, act, feel, and interact with one another," Connie Tyrrell Burns commented in School Library Journal. A critic for Kirkus Reviews found that "Delia and her friends are delightful, and the reader is rooting for them all the way."

One of Draper's most acclaimed novels, Copper Sun, finds fifteen-year-old Amari taken from her home amid the Ewe people and sold into slavery by brutal African slavers. Through Draper's compelling description, readers share the horrors of the Middle Passage with the frightened young teen, and discover the indignities of life as a slave when Amari's boat lands in the Carolinas. Bought by a plantation owner, the young woman serves her master's teenage son until events prompt her to escape south to Florida and freedom. While KaaVonia Hinton observed in Kliatt that Draper does not shy away from depicting the more-violent aspects of slavery, such as torture, murder, and sexual aggression, Copper Sun will inspire "discussions about early African culture and sensibility, acts of resistance executed by slaves …, and abolitionist efforts." In School Library Journal Gerry Larson called the award-winning novel an "action-packed, multifaceted, character-rich story [that] describes the shocking realities of the slave trade and plantation life while portraying the perseverance, resourcefulness, and triumph of the human spirit."

Draper focuses on more-recent history in Fire from the Rock, which is set in the midst of the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. In the story, set in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, Sylvia Patterson has been an honor student in her all-black junior high school. As a freshman, she is now selected as one of the nine students to be transferred to all-white Central High School in response to the Supreme Court's mandate to integrate the nation's public schools. Concerned more with academic success than with crusading, Sylvia fears the move, and her experiences as one of the Little Rock Nine are recounted in both a narrative and diary entries. "With stirring complexity, Draper personalizes the civil rights struggle beyond slogans and politics," wrote Rochman in a review of Fire from the Rock, while a Kirkus Reviews writer dubbed the story "compelling." Noting the many historical aspects of the novel, Hinton wrote in her Kliatt review that the author "skillfully portrays the attitude and climate of late 1950s Arkansas and of the United States in general," thereby presenting the mixed view toward integration that existed on both sides of the racial divide.

In her "Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs" series Draper mixes interesting characters with elements of African-American history and folklore. Ziggy and his three friends, who call themselves the Black Dinosaurs, begin their adventures in Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs. In Lost in the Tunnel of Time, Ziggy and friends take a field trip to the Ohio River and learn about the Underground Railroad and the tunnels the slaves used to escape the South. In the third volume, Shadows of Caesar's Creek, Draper makes connections between African Americans and Native Americans. Other titles featuring Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs include The Buried Bones Mystery, The Space Camp Adventure, and The Backyard Animal Show, all featuring artwork by Jesse Joshua Watson. Reviewing The Space Camp Adventure, in which Ziggy and company attend space camp at the Alabama Space Center, Elaine E. Knight wrote in School Library Journal that Draper incorporates "considerable humor and even a light touch of mystery" into her easy-reading, science-themed story.

Draper once commented: "I feel very blessed that I have had so much success in such a short time. I hope that my books can continue to make a difference in the lives of young people." In a statement posted on her home page, Draper proclaimed: "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."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Contemporary Black Biography, Gale (Detroit, MI), Volume 16, 1998.

Hinton, KaaVonia, Sharon M. Draper: Embracing Literacy, Scarecrow Press (Metuchen, NJ), 2008.

St. James Guide to Young-Adult Writers, 2nd edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1994, Merri Monks, review of Tears of a Tiger, p. 492; February 15, 1997, Candace Smith, review of Forged by Fire, pp. 1016-1017; January 1, 2001, Debbie Carton, review of Darkness before Dawn, p. 939; June 1, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of The Battle of Jericho, p. 1761; August, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of Fire from the Rock, p. 63; October 15, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of November Blues, p. 44.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January, 1995, review of Tears of a Tiger, p. 164; June, 1997, review of Forged by Fire, p. 355; October, 2002, review of Double Dutch, p. 54; July, 2003, review of The Battle of Jericho, p. 444; April, 2006, Karen Coats, review of Copper Sun, p. 348; September, 2007, Karen Coats, review of Fire from the Rock, p. 18.

Christian Science Monitor, May 5, 1997, David Holmstrom, "America's Top Teacher Gives Tough Assignments—And Plenty of Support," p. 12.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, April, 2002, Arina Zonnenberg, review of Romiette and Julio, p. 660, and Odette Cornwall, review of Darkness before Dawn, p. 661.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2002, review of Double Dutch, p. 804; June 1, 2003, review of The Battle of Jericho, p. 802; July 15, 2007, review of Fire from the Rock; October 1, 2007, review of November Blues.

Kliatt, July, 1998, Jean Palmer, review of Forged by Fire, p. 10; July, 2002, Claire Rosser, review of Double Dutch, p. 9; November, 2003, Nancy C. Chaplin, review of Darkness before Dawn, p. 46; January, 2006, KaaVonia Hinton, review of Copper Sun; July, 2007, KaaVonia Hinton, review of Fire from the Rock, p. 12.

Ohioana, 2002, Virginia Schaefer Horvath, review Darkness before Dawn.

Publishers Weekly, January 15, 1996, review of Tears of a Tiger, p. 463; March 25, 1996, review of Lost in the Tunnel of Time, p. 85; December 16, 1996, review of Forged by Fire, p. 61; June 17, 2002, review of Double Dutch, p. 66; June 9, 2003, review of The Battle of Jericho, p. 53.

School Library Journal, September, 1999, Jane Halsall, review of Romiette and Julio, p. 222; February, 2001, Angela J. Reynolds, review of Darkness before Dawn, p. 117; June, 2002, Connie Tyrrell Burns, review of Double Dutch, p. 137; June 9, 2003, review of The Battle of Jericho, p. 53; January, 2006, Gerry Larson, review of Copper Sun, p. 130; January, 2007, Elaine E. Knight, review of The Space Camp Adventure, p. 92; November, 2007, Anne Rouyer, review of November Blues, p. 120.

USA Today, April 17, 1997, "An ‘A’ for Creativity: Variety Is on Teacher of the Year's Lesson Plan," p. D4.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1995, review of Tears of a Tiger, p. 338; June, 1997, review of Forged by Fire, p. 108; December, 1999, Deborah L. Dubois, review of Romiette and Julio; August, 2001, review of Darkness before Dawn, p. 200; August, 2002, review of Double Dutch, p. 191; August, 2007, Robbie L. Flowers, review of Fire from the Rock, p. 238.