I was a middle child. My older sister loved testing limits and was forever in trouble. My younger sister, arriving six years behind me, often needed Mom or Dad’s attention. In all of the commotion, I became invisible and loved it. I spent hours in my room drawing, reading, and writing in my diary.
Drawing pictures occupied a lot of my time. I entered every art contest imaginable and even won a few. My homemade cards for friends and family were legendary. My parents predicted I would work for Hallmark one day. In between drawing, I read. The Scholastic Book Club was THE BEST thing about elementary school. My parents both worked, and the local library was not within walking distance of our house. This fact became bargaining power when the book flyer came around. Of course there was always a dollar limit, so I’d page through the flyer for hours calculating how many books I could actually purchase. The day that book order arrived was like Christmas morning! New books still make me feel this way.
I never did work for Hallmark. Instead, I became a graphic designer and a mom. My design job required many skills: creativity, writing, and editing. My parenting job required many skills too: patience, kindness, and reading tons of books to two children. Both jobs brought me great joy. My kids grew older and started reading to themselves. I grew older and realized I loved writing, but not just copy for sales brochures. I loved writing stories—stories for children. This is my new pursuit, and I couldn’t be happier.
— Sondra Zalewski
BOOKS I LOVED AS A CHILD:
Are You My Mother?
by P.D. Eastman
Put Me In The Zoo
by Robert Lopshire
The Monster at the End of This Book
by Jon Stone
The Maggie B.
by Irene Haas
A Taste of Blackberries
by Doris Buchanan Smith
Mandy
by Julie Edwards
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
The Black Stallion (series)
by Walter Farley
Children’s BOOKS
I LOVE Now:
Old Black Fly
by Jim Aylesworth
The Z Was Zapped
by Chris Van Allsburg
Piggy Pie
by Margie Palatini
Strega Nona
by Tomie DePaola
Olivia
by Ian Falconer
Flotsam
by David Wiesner
Before She Was Harriet
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Harry Potter (series)
by J.K. Rowling