Sharron L. McElmeel
School of Education
University of Wisconsin-Stout
140E Voc Rehab Bldg
Menomonie, WI 54751
Phone: (319) 393-2562
E-mail: mcelmeels@uwstout.edu
Sharron L. McElmeel teaches two courses: Children's Literature and Young Adult Literature.
Sharron L. McElmeel has earned a national reputation as a literacy advocate and children's and young adult literature specialist. She has authored more than two dozen books for educators and parents focusing on books for young readers and the people who create those books.
Sharron is a respected author in the children's and young adult literature field. The 2nd edition of Young Adult Literature and Multimedia: A Quick Guide (2006) has been released and another of Sharron's recent books, Authors in the Kitchen: Recipes, Stories, and More (2005) and a companion title, Authors in the Pantry: Recipes, Stories, and More (2007). Her bi-annual Best Teen Reads for 2007 book is now available. Other titles include 100 Most Popular Children's Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies (Libraries Unlimited, 1999) and 100 Most Popular Picture Book Authors and Illustrators: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies (2000) and Character Education: A Book Guide for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents (2002). She is a regular columnist for School Library Media Activities Monthly and Library Sparks. A complete list of publications, including selected articles authored is available online.
Sharron earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Iowa and her M.A. in Library Science from the University of Iowa. She has completed post-graduate work in educational administration and reading and holds certificate approvals in both areas.
Her career as an educator has spanned elementary, secondary, and college level teaching - in both classroom (team teaching, block scheduling, self-contained) and media centers - many of those years as an educator in public schools. Currently Sharron is a full-time writer and college instructor, and director of McBookwords--a literary organization.
In 1987 Sharron was named Iowa Reading Teacher of the Year, the only media specialist in the state of Iowa to have received that honor. In 1997 she was nominated in the Iowa Teacher of the Year competition, and in 2003 she was honored with the Iowa Reading Association's Celebrate Literacy Award for her longtime involvement in developing community literacy activities. In the following year (2004) she was named to a list of Top Ten Online Educators by Innovative Teaching.
Sharron and her husband live in a rural area north of Cedar Rapids, Iowa where they enjoy frequent visits from their sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters.
When she is not writing or reading, Sharron enjoys projects - currently she is designing and creating a literary quilt - blocks honoring favorite characters from children's books. That quilt will eventually be showcased on her website.
She has compleled a second project--documenting with photographs, the 800 plus Evelyn Zerzanek Collection of original Children's Book Art at the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library.
Sharron's website features an Author Links page and a State and Regional Book Awards page among other literacy related pages. A complete vita may be accessed online.
Email your comments or questions to Sharron.