SOURCE CITATION
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
Photograph provided by Penguin Books for Young Readers.
"Sidelights"
Suzy Kline told CA: "I enjoy being the drama director at our school. Each year we present a special, original play. I write the script and lyrics, and a fellow teacher composes the music. I have been writing these musicals for five years now.
"My first serious writing began when I was eight. I wrote letters to my grandfather in Indiana, telling him what was happening at our house. It seemed to me that he missed his son--my dad--very much, and he would be interested in hearing about him. Our home in California was three thousand miles away. My aunt told me that my letters helped him live a little longer, which made me feel really good about writing.
"When I visit classrooms and talk to students about writing, I always bring my bag of rejections (or No Thank You's as I tell primary children). I also bring my box of flops, the stories no one wanted. But I tell the students how I still save them and how some ideas can be reworked--even my third grade poem! The children know that the first book I got published was not the first story I wrote.
"My first book, Shhhh!, was written in one night. That's unusual for me. But this is how it happened: I was in class that day working with my second grade students on a Beverly Cleary mural. It was almost as long as the gym but we were painting it in my room. It was lots of fun. The children were thinking of favorite scenes to paint, and they were just bubbling with noise. So I walked around trying to show interest and `shhhh'ed' them down. That night at dinner when my husband asked me to pass the salt, I looked at him and said, `Shhhh!' He gave me a blank look, and so did my daughters. I realized I had so many shhh's in my head they were erupting out of control, so I immediately went to my typewriter and put them in a story!
"The sequel, Don't Touch!, took several months to write. I just knew I wanted to deal with that topic too. With Ooops! the trilogy of expressions is complete. I think I said `Shhhh!', `Don't touch,' and `Ooops' more than any other phrases while my kids were toddlers, and I still say them in the classroom daily.
"In my most recent Herbie book, Herbie and the Class Gift, I write about the difficulty of coming up with money. It happens to a lot of us. It happened recently on a Sunday night when the newspaper boy came to our house for $1.87 and all we could round up was 71c. It happens. And it's embarrassing.
"I think I could go on forever writing about Herbie Jones and Raymond and Annabelle Louisa Hodgekiss. To me, this series is about family, friendships, and the classroom, three things that are so close to my heart. Most of all, I am blessed with a strong Christian faith, and that has made all the difference in my life."
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Family: Born August 27, 1943, in Berkeley, CA; daughter of Harry C. (in real estate) and Martha S. (a housewife) Weaver; married Rufus O. Kline (a college teacher and newspaper reporter), October 12, 1968; children: Jennifer, Emily. Education: Attended Columbia University; University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1966; California State College (now University), Hayward, Standard Elementary Credential, 1967. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Presbyterian. Avocational Interests: Camping, drawing, travel, sports, reading. Memberships: Society of Children's Book Writers, New England Reading Association, Connecticut Education Association, Torrington Education Association. Addresses: Home: 124 Hoffman St., Torrington, CT 06790. Office: Southwest School, High and Litchfield Sts., Torrington, CT.
AWARDS
Herbie Jones was named one of the best books of 1985 by Christian Science Monitor and a Children's Choice Book for 1986 by Children's Council of the International Reading Association.
CAREER
Elementary schoolteacher in Richmond, CA, 1968-71; Southwest School, Torrington, CT, elementary teacher, 1976--. Gives workshops for other teachers.
