Middle School
Worksheets
Caroline B. Cooney
Caroline B. Cooney, an award-winning American writer, was born May 10, 1947, and grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was always an energetic child who was involved in a number of activities. Cooney loved school and was an avid reader. Some of her favorite book series as a child were The Hardy Boys and Cherry Ames. The characters in these books influenced her life. In fact, the chief reason Cooney went to nursing school in Boston was because of Cherry Ames, Student Nurse.
In sixth grade Cooney knew she wanted to be a writer because her teacher, "the best teacher I ever had," focused heavily on writing. As a way to get students writing, the teacher would take covers off The New Yorker, pass them out, and expect the students to write short stories based upon whichever cover they got. According to Cooney, that was when she started writing and never stopped.
After Cooney graduated from high school and started college, her plans were to be a nurse. She went to nursing school for a year but never finished. She then studied music but again didn't complete her schooling. Ultimately, she left college having never gotten a degree. Cooney did continue her writing while attending college. During her twenties, Cooney wrote eight full-length adult novels. Unfortunately, none were published.
Eventually Cooney began her professional writing career. She never considered writing a difficult task as a child, and even now writing comes easy for her. She was once quoted as saying, "I love all of it, thinking up the plots, getting to know the kids in the story, their parents, backyards, pizza toppings."
In addition to her love of writing, Cooney is also pleased that her books impact young readers. She once received a fan letter that ultimately became her greatest fan letter ever. The letter was from a twelve year old girl who hated reading. She was apparently forced to read one of Cooney's books for school. In her letter to Cooney, the girl admitted that reading the book wasn't a waste of time but was actually pleasant. The girl even told Cooney that she planned to read a second book. Cooney is so happy when young people realize that reading is fun. It pleases her tremendously.
