Scott Foresman Reading Street

More About Steve Schuch

Steve Schuch grew up surrounded by music and stories. Both of his parents played the piano. At night his mother would read. Mr. Schuch also loved science, so at college he studied music and biology. Before writing A Symphony of Whales, Mr. Schuch composed music by playing his violin over real whale sounds. The music is called "Whale Trilogy."

More About Sarah Stewart

Ms. Stewart and her husband live in an old house along a river in Michigan. Ms. Stewart has five gardens and an orchard. She plants and works in the gardens from early spring through fall. Then she reads and writes all winter in the library in her home.

More About Chieri Uegaki

Chieri Uegaki lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and a dog named Jojo. Her advice to young writers? "Listen more than you speak. Read everything and take notes."

Students can search the Internet, using authors' names as keywords. Remind students to follow classroom guidelines for Internet use.

More About Judith Viorst

Judith Viorst is the author of several works of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. Ms. Viorst loves children's books and believes they "can meet the deepest needs of the heart and of the mind" of a child. Her most famous book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, has since sold more than two million copies and has been turned into a play. Ms. Viorst and her husband live in Washington, D.C.

More About Natasha Wing

Natasha Wing began her career working at a newspaper, but she had dreams of writing her own creative stories. After much hard work and many hours of writing and rewriting, she succeeded. Today, she is the best-selling author of several children's books, including The Night Before Easter, The Night Before Halloween, and The Night Before Kindergarten. Ms. Wing is married and has two cats, Toonces and Jemima, and a dog named Sabaka.

Students can search electronic reference sources to find out more about the topics covered in these authors' works. Keywords might include the topic, such as whales or kimono, an interesting detail, or the name of the place the story takes place.

Steve Schuch

The author of A Symphony of Whales,
p. 358 of Vol. 1

Steve Schuch first became interested in whales
when a scientist who was also a musician came

to his college. The musician played his cello along with recordings of whale songs. “That evening forever changed how I heard music and thought about whales,” says Mr. Schuch.

Sarah Stewart

The author of The Gardener, p. 284 of Vol. 1

As a child, Sarah Stewart’s favorite places were the
library and her grandmother’s garden. She loved quiet
places where she could think and dream. At the

library she would daydream with a book. “In my grandmother’s garden,
I could dig in the earth or cut a bouquet or simply lie down between the rows and listen to the silence.” Other books: The Library and The Journey

Chieri Uegaki

The author of Suki’s Kimono, p. 150 of Vol. 2

Chieri Uegaki began writing at the age of seven when
she published a family newspaper. Ms. Uegaki says
about her writing: “It makes me very happy to think

that something I’ve written could touch someone and perhaps even become someone’s favorite.” Ms. Uegaki based Suki’s Kimono on her relationship with her Japanese grandmother. Other books about children like Suki: First Day, Hooray! and It’s Back to School We Go!

SUPER-COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY THE MESSIEST

Judith Viorst

The author of Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, p. 68 of Vol. 1

Judith Viorst based the character of Alexander on the
youngest of her three children. “Four of the books I’ve

written for children, I consciously sat down and wrote because one child or another of mine had a problem.” She hoped her books would help her sons “laugh at their own problems.” Other books: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest

Natasha Wing

The author of Jalapeño Bagels, p. 224 of Vol. 2

Natasha Wing lives in northern California, where she
often buys jalapeño bagels at a bakery in town. The
bakery, called Los Bagels Bakery and Café, gave

Ms. Wing the idea for this story. Los Bagels offers many tasty snacks, such as Mexican hot chocolate, pumpkin turnovers, and bagels topped with jalapeño jelly. Another book: The Night Before Summer Vacation