www.candiceransom.com

I would kick the rungs of the kitchen chair, supposedly doing math homework, while my mother cooked supper and told me stories, like the time she locked her cousin Happy in an empty coffin (my grandfather was an undertaker.)

Anyone's life, even my mother's, was more exciting than mine. In second grade, I began writing stories, with myself as heroine. At last, I found a way to have adventures!

When I was 15, I decided to become a children's writer, even though I believed people who wrote kids' books were all dead.

My love of children's books has led me on adventures beyond my wildest childhood dreams. I am the author of 75 books, including picture books, fiction for all ages, nonfiction, biographies, and even the Boxcar Children series.

Through my work, I have traveled back in time, relived my own past (and fixed the awful parts!), and explored every corner of my home state.

I wouldn't trade my life with anyone else's!

It's October, 1896 on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Through the howling wind and lashing rain of a hurricane, ten-year-old Sam Deal and his horse, Ginger, watch as the brave surfmen of Pea Island struggle to save the lives of nine people stranded on a shipwreck. Sam has dreamed of becoming a surfman just like Keeper Richard Etheridge and the rest of the all-African-American crew and this is his chance. Risking his own life, Sam learns the true meaning of courage.

The first time my husband and I vacationed on the Outer Banks, I fell in love with that special place. We ate dinner in a converted live-saving station. The old photographs and artifacts on the walls fascinated me. We saw wild horses grazing by the roadside. Later I read about the pony herd and the U.S. Life Saving Stations. When I came across the story of Richard Etheridge and his men, I had to tell it. Sometimes I put personal things into my books. When I was Sam's age, my father's boss went to Chincoteague island (as in Misty of Chincoteage) and brought back two ponies from the famous pony swim and auction. We took care of the ponies. Soon we had three ponies, wild as the ocean. The baby was named Ginger. I put her in my book.

Maria Von Trap
Lerner/ Carolrhoda, 2002
Grades 4-8, Ages 9-13
$25.26 Hard Cover ISBN 1575054442

Known to millions of movie-goers as the heroine of The Sound of Music, Maria Von Trap was a real person who met every challenge with creativity, energy, and lots of determination. Explore Maria's lonely childhood, her years in the Nonnberg Abbey, her life with the Von Trapp family, and her adventures in the United States. Maria's pioneering spirit, sense of humor, and joyful personality make an inspiring story that reaches beyond The Sound of Music.

I would never have thought of writing a biography of Maria von Trapp, but when my editor asked me to, I thought it was a wonderful idea. I was in junior high when I saw The Sound of Music. The movie totally captivated me-- I even played "Maria the Bride" by wearing yards of satin ribbons in my hair. The best part of writing this book was discovering how fascinating Maria's life was after the Von Trapps left Austria. That is the joy in writing-learning new things.

Addie's father promised she would learn to read and write her name. But when he is killed in the Civil War, it seems like Addie's dreams died with him.

In January 1925, Floyd Collins explored a cavern in Kentucky. He became trapped. For weeks, rescue teams struggled to save him, while the nation was gripped by the daily drama. Fictional Arly Dunbar tries to help as the situation grows more desperate.

"Ransom effectively conveys Arly's frustration but refrains from turning his foolhardy act into a dramatic rescue and instead sticks with the historical conclusion of the event."
Horn Book

When I first read the account of Floyd Collins, I was struck by the media circus surrounding his plight. There was even a ballad written about him. Small, tucked-away historical events often beckon me to bring them to light again.

1917 was the coldest winter on record in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. The narrator's father may not be home for Christmas. She watches the trains and yearns for the day she will leave the mountains for the wider world outside.

"Ransom's vision of a mountain legend nearly sighs with longing before it begins to tingle in anticipation of a poignant reunion."
Publisher's Weekly

"The apt turns of phrase and quietly understated story make this a lovely family history for the holidays."
School Library Journal

"Ransom's text is full of everyday poetry."
Booklist

This story is based on a combination of fact and folklore from the region of southwest Virginia, where my father grew up. Family stories often find their way into my work. I'd heard about that bitter cold winter and tried to capture the isolated beauty of the Virginia highlands.

A little girl and her mother take the bus to town for a day of errands. The narrator puts souvenirs from her day in her grown-up green purse...but leaves her purse on the bus going home.

"A cozy satisfying tale of an orderly world-simply told and illustrated with pictures in which the cheerful faces and tidy, spacious design nicely reflect the text's sunny flavor."
Kirkus Reviews

"Youngsters will be entirely satisfied with the expected happy ending to this sprightly narrative, which is studded with inventive imagery."
Publisher's Weekly

"This simple slice-of-life story is straightforward and convincingly told."
School Library Journal

This book is straight from my life. My mother and I often rode the Trailways bus to Manassas. I had a glorious green pocketbook which I liked better than my "little girl" purses. The day I left it on the bus was a tragedy and I have never forgotten the kindness of that bus driver.

Polly and her parents live in the hollows of the Blue Ridge Mountains. When the government buys the land they lease for a national park, they have to move.

"This wistful, nostalgic tale tells of the losses suffered and gains achieved by the creation of the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia."
Horn Book

"Instead of simply lamenting a vanished way of life, Ransom writes with a full spectrum of emotion, wringing from the story a well-considered metaphor for the mixed blessings of progress. The family's gradual, bittersweet acceptance of change is handled with prodigious sensitivity." Booklist

"Details of mountain life in the 20s and 30s are set out in both pictures and text, and give a clear picture of life in this time and place."
School Library Journal; Starred Review

This is just a sampling of my books, which have been translated into 11 languages. For a complete list, including my Boxcar Children series titles, please contact me at alaric@candiceransom.com.