April Pulley Sayre

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April Pulley Sayre (April 11, 1966 — November 6, 2021) was an American children's book author from the 1990s to 2020s. Before becoming an author, Sayre worked at the National Wildlife Federation and National Geographic Society. Sayre published series on the biomes and continents between 1994 and 2003. She expanded into picture books during 1995. With her picture books, Sayre primarily wrote about animals while also writing about food and the weather.

Sayre was on the ALA Notable lists three times during both the 2000s and 2010s. Additional lists Sayre's books appeared on during this time period include the International Reading Association and National Science Teaching Association. From the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sayre won the Children's Science Picture Book category as part of the 2006 AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books with Stars Beneath Your Bed. She received the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor for Vulture View in 2008. At the Indiana Authors Awards, Sayre won the Genre Excellence category during 2016.

Early life and education[edit]

April Pulley's birth occurred at Greenville, South Carolina on April 11, 1966.[1] Pulley became interested in literature and nature while living with her two siblings during her childhood.[2] Growing up, she provided the pill bugs for her family's educational toys.[3] Pulley "wrote bedtime stories for her pet rock" as a student.[4] She had asthma until it stopped during her teenage years.[5] By 2000, April Pulley Sayre completed her post-secondary education at Duke University and Vermont College.[6] For her programs, she studied science and writing.[4]

Career[edit]

During the late 1980s, Pulley worked at the National Wildlife Federation and National Geographic Society as an intern before her marriage.[7] In 1988, Pulley started a three-year position as an associate editor with the NWF.[1] The year after, Pulley wrote a primatologist biography that did not get published.[7] When April Pulley Sayre began re-experiencing asthma in 1990, she created Team A with her husband and wrote about childhood asthma.[8] In the early 1990s, Sayre wanted to work in biology during her writing career.[3] From 1994 to 2003, Sayre published one series of books on the biomes and two series on the continents.[9]

She expanded into picture books in 1995 after being inspired during an authors' conference.[10] By the late 1990s, Sayre had written poetry that was private.[11] Up to 2018, Sayre primarily wrote about animals in over forty books. Some of these animals were the hummingbird, bumblebee and squirrel.[12] Other topics Sayre wrote about include the weather and food.[13]

As a fiction writer, Sayre released Noodle Man, The Pasta Superhero in 2002.[14] For her husband's co-authored book in 2015 titled Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of the Midwest, Sayre helped conducted plant research during the 2010s.[15] That year, Sayre created The Indiana Chant for the 200th anniversary of the state.[16] By the time of her death in 2021, she had "created more than 80 books for young readers".[7]

Writing process and themes[edit]

To create her publications, Sayre conducted research before starting the writing process.[17] Some places she visited for her books include the Galapagos Islands and Madagascar.[18][10] Her books took a minimum total of one combined year to complete the planning and publication stages.[19] In 2004, Sayre stated she was "rejected probably 500 times" during her writing career.[20]

For her books, she focused on making them sound good when read out loud.[21] Sayre released Secrets of Sound: Studying the Calls and Song of Whales, Elephants, and Birds after she used onomatopoeia in multiple publications.[22] During the 2010s, she included photos that she took in her publications.[21]

Awards and honors[edit]

In 2001, Sayre became a multiple recipient on the John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers from the John Burroughs Association.[23] That year, her book Splash! Splash! Animal Baths was a Children's Choice for the International Reading Association.[24] With the American Library Association, three of her books were on the ALA Notable lists in the 2000s.[25][26] She was on these ALA lists three more times during the 2010s.[27][28] With Vulture View, Sayre was given a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor in 2008.[29]

From the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Stars Beneath Your Bed received the AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books for the Children's Science Picture Book category in 2006.[30] During the 2010s, her books were chosen as Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 multiple times by the National Science Teaching Association in 2014 and 2017.[31][32] Sayre won the Genre Excellence category as part of the Indiana Authors Awards in 2016.[33]

Personal life and death[edit]

In 1996, Sayre moved to South Bend, Indiana and lived there until her 2021 death.[34] Sayre had breast cancer before her death during November 6, 2021.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Fuller, Amy Elisabeth, ed. (2009). "Sayre, April Pulley 1966-". Contemporary Authors. New Revision. Vol. 181. Detroit and London: Gale Cengage Learning. p. 296. ISBN 9781414419251. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  2. ^ McElmeel, Sharon L. (2004). "April Pulley Sayre". Children's Authors and Illustrators Too Good to Miss. Westport, Connecticut and London: Libraries Unlimited. p. 183. ISBN 1591580277. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Billmeier, Gina (March 29, 1997). "Young authors meeting invites science writer". The South Bend Tribune. p. A3.
  4. ^ a b Berner, Nicole (November 27, 2002). "Author explains where she gets all those ideas". The Indianapolis Star. p. W3.
  5. ^ Applegate, Debra A. (September 13, 1992). "Team A gets out word on asthma". The South Bend Tribune. p. G1.
  6. ^ Rockman, Connie C., ed. (2004). "April Pulley Sayre". Ninth Book of Junior Author and Illustrators. New York and Dublin: The H.W. Wilson Company. p. 477. ISBN 0824210433. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Maughan, Shannon (November 11, 2021). "Obituary: April Pulley Sayre". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  8. ^ Spencer-Mention, Kathy (November 12, 1993). "A Team Approach". The Greenville News. p. 1B.
  9. ^ Fuller 2009, pp. 297-298
  10. ^ a b McElmeel 2004, p. 184
  11. ^ Sanderson, Katherine (March 30, 1998). "Author: Hard work, knowledge part of writing". The South Bend Tribune. p. sec. Hometown p. 1.
  12. ^ Stock, Jennifer, ed. (2018). "Sayre, April Pulley 1966–". Something About the Author. Vol. 320. Farmington Hills, Michigan and Chicago: Gale, a Cengage Company. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-4103-2463-4.
  13. ^ Fuller 2009, p. 297
  14. ^ Richardson, Michelle P.G. (July 28, 2002). "Browsing: Children's Books". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. F11.
  15. ^ Dits, Joseph (May 6, 2015). "Midwest wildlife guide". The South Bend Tribune. p. A12.
  16. ^ Housholder, Grace (November 9, 2015). "Project promotes state bicentennial reading". KPCnews.com. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  17. ^ Deagostino, Martin (April 22, 1996). "The writing life". Muncie Evening Press. p. 2.
  18. ^ Spalding, Mary Beth (March 16, 2001). "Inspiring the young to write". The South Bend Tribune. p. D7.
  19. ^ Russell, Erika Schmidt. "A writer's voice makes many noises". The Journal-Press. Aurora, Indiana. p. 1-B.
  20. ^ Koch, Gail (July 30, 2004). "Aspiring writers told to get used to rejection". The Star Press. p. 3A.
  21. ^ a b Smith, Julia (December 1, 2019). "Instilling Wonder: Talking with April Pulley Sayre". Booklist. Vol. 116, no. 7. p. 49.
  22. ^ Rockman 2004, p. 476
  23. ^ Bayuk, Michelle F., ed. (2005). Children's Books: Awards & Prizes. New York: The Children's Book Council Inc. pp. 45–49. ISBN 0933633076. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  24. ^ "Children's Choices for 2001". The Reading Teacher. 55 (2): 173, 180. October 2001. JSTOR 20205029.
  25. ^ Stock 2018, p. 175
  26. ^ "The Best, Notable, & Recommended From 2007". Teacher Librarian. 35 (4). Bowie: E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC: 8. April 2008.
  27. ^ Schulte-Cooper, Laura (February 5, 2014). "ALSC names 2014 Notable Children's Books" (Press release). American Library Association. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  28. ^ Schulte-Cooper, Laura (January 19, 2016). "ALSC names 2016 Notable Children's Books" (Press release). American Library Association. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  29. ^ "Theodor Seuss Geisel Award". American Library Association. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  30. ^ "2006 Winner: Children's Science Picture Book". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  31. ^ "Outstanding Science Trade Books For Students K–12" (PDF). National Science Teaching Association. March 2014. pp. 69–70. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  32. ^ "Outstanding Science Trade Books For Students K—12: 2017" (PDF). National Science Teaching Association. 2017. pp. 2, 6. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  33. ^ "Previous Award Winners". Indiana Authors Awards. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  34. ^ Mazurek, Marek (December 2, 2021). "Author who featured South Bend in children's books is remembered for making 'the area hers'". The South Bend Tribune. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
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