When Elaine Moore was in the seventh grade, her mother gave her what Elaine thought was the worst job in the world -- baby sitting her younger sister. What a surprise! Elaine soon discovered that this new responsibility was a young author's dream come true. All week long, Elaine's sister cleaned Elaine's room, picked up her laundry, and gave Elaine oreo cookies -- in exchange for Elaine's writing exciting stories with chapters that had cliffhanger endings to be shared aloud on Friday nights.

Having found her audience at an early age, Elaine is now a prolific award-winning author who writes books for children ages two through twelve. Because she wears a purple hat while writing (to ward off distraction and signal her family that she's working) she's often referred to as the lady with the Purple Writer's Hat. It is this trademark purple hat that became the foundation for her popular "Under the Purple Writer's Hat" keynote speeches, presentations and workshops for students and adults which have been successful in over 500 schools and conventions nationwide.

Profoundly affected by the deep love of her maternal grandmother, it was only natural that Elaine found herself writing about the special relationship between generations. It was this love that sparked the award-winning picture book, Grandma's House, the first in Lothrop, Lee & Shepard's four-book series about Grandma and Kim. Just as in the book, Elaine's grandmother had a wooden porch with a green wooden table where she set her glass of water before plaiting Elaine's hair in a way that didn't pull and didn't hurt. A grandfather's gentle love for his grandchild is equally recognized in the beautifully illustrated picture book,
Deep River (Simon & Schuster), the story of a child's first fishing adventure with Grandpa.

Just as Elaine's picture books often reflect her sensitive nature, her novels for school-age readers reveal her humorous side.

I'd Rather Be Eaten By Sharks (Scholastic), a book designed to help children with their oral reports, brings Chester, a potbelly pig and the subject of Joy's speech, riding to school on a Viking warship.

When a class of mischievous sixth graders plan to make the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most substitute teachers, their principal retaliates by calling for The Substitute Teacher from Mars
(Troll).

The outrageousness of Who Let Girls in the Boys' Locker Room (Troll) is continued in Get That Girl Out of the Boy's Locker Room (Troll) a novel about gender equality in which Michelle discovers how to walk, talk, and spit like a boy.

InThere's a Mastodon in My Living Room (Troll) a rambunctious woolly mammoth and Elvis Presley help ten year-old Jason appreciate the importance of reading -- the same theme that Elaine enthusiastically carries through in her delightful workshops.

Grandma's House
(Lothrop): Top ten picture books of the year, Christian Science Monitor, 1985; "Pick of the Lists,"
American Booksellers Association; selected to represent intergenerational relationships between American women and children and presented as a gift to Russian women and children, Congressional Peace Links Group, 1989.

Grandma's Promise
(Lothrop): Wisconsin's Cooperative Children's Book Center Award, 1988; Children's Choice Award, IRA-CBC, 1988; Mixed-up Sam (Milliken): Children's Choice Award, IRA-CBC, 1989;

I'd Rather Be Eaten By Sharks
(Scholastic): Michigan's Young Reader Award, 1996; included in Accelerated Reading Program, 1997.

More information about Elaine Moore can be found in Something About the Author
(Gale Research) Vol. 86, pgs 154-159.
A complete listing of Elaine's books and brief descriptions of her programs can be obtained by visiting Elaine's web site www.elainemoore.com. All inquiries should be sent to Elaine at elaine@elainemoore.com.

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