SOURCE CITATION
"Sharon M(ills) Draper." Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults, 2nd ed., 8 vols. Gale Group, 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
Photograph provided by Scholastic Inc.
BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
Sharon Draper once commented: "On April 18, 1997, I was honored as the 1997 National Teacher of the Year by President Clinton at the White House. It is a wonderful honor, but also an awesome responsibility--to be the spokesperson and advocate for education in America. I was ready for this challenge, however, because I had been preparing for this work my entire life.
"I have been a public school teacher for twenty-five years. 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. So I started writing books for young people.
"Tears of a Tiger is written for high school students--on their level, in their style, about their world. The main characters are African American males, but it's written for all teenagers. The characters are just ordinary kids trying to get through high school. The book does not deal with drugs or gangs or sex. It does, however, deal with parents, girlfriends, and homework. It also discusses the problems of drinking and driving, racism and teen suicide. I sent it to twenty-five publishing companies and got twenty-four rejection notices. The very last letter was a letter of acceptance from Simon and Schuster.
"While I was waiting for that one to finish the publication process, I wrote another book for younger students. It is called Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs. It is written for boys ages six to twelve. Ziggy is funny and a mystery, dealing with clubhouses and buried treasure, and even includes hidden history lessons for young readers. The response has been so wonderful that it has been made into a series. In the second book, Lost in the Tunnel of Time, Ziggy and his friends find an old, abandoned tunnel of the Underground Railroad and get lost in it. The third book in this series is called Shadows of Caesar's Creek, and deals with the forgotten connections between African Americans and Native Americans, again through humor, excitement, and solid literary development. Students can read this series and learn as well as enjoy the tale. Teachers can use these to teach.
"Although it was not planned that way, both Tears of a Tiger and Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs hit the bookstores on the very same day! The response was tremendous and overwhelming. Parents have asked, 'Where have you been?' Young readers are clamoring for the sequels. I don't think I have ever had a young person read Tears of a Tiger and not like it. Actually, many of the teenagers who read it tell me they have never read a whole book before in their lives, but they read that one in one night.
"Tears of a Tiger has received wonderful reviews, several national awards, and was awarded the Coretta Scott King Genesis Award, as well as being selected as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults for 1995. The sequel, Forged by Fire, is a powerful piece for young people on child abuse and survival. I was surprised and pleased when it received the Coretta Scott King Award in 1998.
"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."
Draper's debut novel, Tears of a Tiger, delves into the gritty issues of teen suicide, alcoholism, and racism, exploring what happens in the wake of a car accident in which the intoxicated driver's best friend is killed. Andy, a high school basketball star, tries to cope with his feelings of guilt and loss. When teachers, counselors, coaches, and even his girlfriend are unable to help him, Andy commits suicide. The story is told through homework assignments, newspaper articles, police reports, and conversations. According to Kathy Fritts in School Library Journal, "the characters' voices are strong, vivid and ring true." Roger Sutton, in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, maintained the book will "provoke lots of thought and debate among young adults." Voice of Youth Advocates contributor Dorothy M. Broderick asserted that Tears of a Tiger "is as compelling a novel as any published in the last two decades."
Forged by Fire is the second book in the "Hazelwood High" trilogy. Gerald, the main character, was one of Andy's basketball teammates. Gerald's first experience with fire comes at the age of three, when his apartment catches on fire when his mother leaves him home alone to go and buy drugs. He is severely burnt, and after he recovers he goes to live with his Aunt Queen. Gerald does not see his mother again until he is nine, when she reappears with a new husband, Jordan Sparks, and Angel, a daughter born while she was in prison. This little girl has already faced much abuse in her short life, and Gerald quickly becomes her protector. Together, the two of them turn Sparks in for molesting Angel, and he is sent to jail. Over the next six years the children bloom, Angel as a dancer and Gerald as a basketball player, but then Sparks is released from jail and comes back to the family. The children's mother welcomes him back, and he attempts to abuse the children again. Fire influences Gerald's life for a second time when he tries to stop Sparks from hurting Angel again. "With nonstop excitement, this is well-written, easy to read, and possibly an inspiration" for children facing abuse, wrote Kevin Beach and Beverly B. Youree in a review for Voice of Youth Advocates.
Draper concluded the "Hazelwood High" trilogy with Darkness before Dawn. This book follows Keisha, Andy's ex-girlfriend, through her senior year of high school. She survives situations such as a misguided relationship with the school's new track coach who also happens to be the principal's son, and an attempted rape. Draper also touches on the difficulties of teen relationships in Romiette and Julio, a story about the prejudice an African American girl and a Hispanic boy face because of their interracial relationship. "A straightforward, uncluttered narrative will hook readers into the well-paced plot and sympathetic characters," a Kirkus Reviews contributor commented about this book.
"Our greatest accomplishments in education are not the plaques and awards, but the smiles and hugs and memories of children touched today and somehow influenced tomorrow," Draper commented on her Web site. Through her books Draper has touched children far beyond the many Walnut Hills High School seniors who have, over the years, proudly worn the famous T-shirts that proclaim, "I Survived the Draper Paper." These shirts are jealously guarded. When President Clinton requested one when he met Draper at the awards ceremony for the 1997 Teacher of the Year award, she refused, because he had not actually written a senior thesis for her.
UPDATES
January 12, 2004: Draper won a 2004 King Author Honor Book award for her book The Battle of Jericho. Source: American Library Association, www.ala.org, January 12, 2004.
January 22, 2007: The American Library Association awarded Draper's book Copper Sun the Coretta Scott King Book Award. Source: CNN, www.cnn.com, January 23, 2007.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born 1957, in Cleveland, OH; daughter of Victor (a hotel manager) and Catherine (a gardener) Mills; married Larry E. Draper (an educator); children: Wendy, Damon, Crystal, Cory. Education: Pepperdine University, B.A.; Miami University (Oxford, OH), M.A; College of Mt. St. Joseph, D.H.L.; Cincinnati State University, D.A. Memberships: International Reading Association, American Federation of Teachers, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (board of directors, 1995--), National Council of Teachers of English, Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, Conference on English Leadership, Delta Kappa Gamma, Phi Delta Kappa, Education Honor Society, Women's City Club. Addresses: Office--P.O. Box 36551, Cincinnati, OH 45219. Agent--Janell Agyeman, Marie Brown Associates Inc., 990 Northeast 82 Terrace, Miami, FL 33138. E-mail--glendale99@aol.com.
CAREER
Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati, OH, junior and senior high school teacher, 1972--. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Board of Trustees, 1998--; member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; public speaker, poet, and author; associate of Mayerson Academy for professional development of teachers.
