Tue, Nov 24 2009
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A new page in her career Children’s librarian finds second career as author of those books By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.comStar Beacon Sheldon says the series could continue with almost infinite variations on the theme of adding a new member to a family, but she’s done with it and wants to move on to more creative pursuits.
“We’re done. I could go on and on, but it’s not necessary at all,” she says. For her next book, Sheldon will tell the story of a youngster who is scared to go into a library story time. It’s a story based on an experience she had with a young listener. “She never made it, not one time. It was just too scary for her,” Sheldon recalls. Sheldon has finished the story and is looking for a publisher. Her grandson, Jacob, also has come up with a book idea, and Sheldon plans to credit him when it gets published. And she and Maizel are still kicking around ideas in which Maizel’s log cabin illustrations could be used. One thing she won’t be doing is writing fiction for adults or teens. “I don’t think I could ever write (young adult fiction). I don’t think I could have written that when I was one,” she says. “I can instantly drop into a toddler’s viewpoint and write like that for hours.” In addition to writing, Sheldon is nanny to two of her 10 grandchildren, Jacob, 6, and Abraham, 4, who live in Mentor. She also volunteers as a guest reader and speaker at area schools, where she encourages students to follow their passion for writing. “I love going to schools, I really do,” she says. “If kids have a feeling they would be good at (writing), they are probably right. That’s part of the conviction is feeling that you’ll be good at it.” While Sheldon’s second career came as a surprise for her, she says the signs were there all along. The Kirtland native wanted to be a pharmacist and worked as a technician during high school and college. But she found English much easier and switched majors. She didn’t complete her degree and, while employed in Mentor, returned to college to study children’s literature. But there are some things they just don’t teach you in college. “The antics of the youngsters on the floor were hysterical,” she says. “At Mentor there was a fistfight in back of the room while I was reading to the kids. They were just slugging it out back there. I wonder what is the protocol when you are reading a story and they are slugging it out?” 
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