American author of children’s books, Andrew Clements, was born May 29, 1949 in Camden, New Jersey.
American author of children’s books, Andrew Clements, was born May 29, 1949 in Camden, New Jersey.
He had two sisters and three brothers, his father was an insurance salesman and his mother was a watercolor artist and homemaker.
Andrew’s mother and father instilled reading into him and he loved to read. However, he always felt writing was hard work until some of his professors made notes on his papers how well he wrote.
In the middle of his sixth grade year his family moved to Springfield, Missouri. Both before and after moving his family spent summers in Maine at a lake cabin.
While in college he wrote some poetry and his professor asked him to teach a creative writing course at summer workshops.
He received his degree, became a teacher and taught in some north of Chicago Public Schools and got married.
Andrew and his wife then left Chicago because of decline in school enrollment. He moved his family to New York City to become a song writer, which didn’t work out.
Andrew then went to work in the publishing business where his boss learned he could write, asking Andrew to compose a picture book for a lady who wanted to illustrate an underwater book.
He wrote Big Al in 1987 with more picture books forthcoming.
Andrew’s most successful book, Frindle was published in 1996. When asked how he came up with ideas for his many books, he replied “one word at a time.”
Henryetta Public Library has a copy of his book, (JF) Frindle.
Andrew and his wife had four sons and lived in Baldwin, Maine when he died November 29, 2019.
Henryetta Public Library calendar themes for the month of June include: Audiobook Month; Dairy Month; National Candy Month; National Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Month; National Rose Month and National Safety Month.
