Born:
August  09, 1944
Smyrna, Tennessee,
United States Of America

Current Home:
St. Louis, Missouri,
United States Of America

Patricia McKissack

Biography

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Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack have written over one hundred books about the African-American experience. They have won countless awards and received much critical acclaim, all the while bringing enjoyment and information to young readers.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Patricia worked as a teacher and then as an editor of children's books. “My career as a teacher helped me recognize what books were needed and what children enjoyed reading; my career as an editor taught me how to develop an idea. After teaching for nine years and editing for six, I felt I was ready to launch my writing career.

Fred worked first as a civil engineer for the city of St. Louis and the U.S. Army, and later owned his own general contracting company in St. Louis. Now he devotes his time to the family business, All-Writing Services.

And just how does the collaboration process work? “There is no magic formula,” Fred says. “Pat and I talk all the time.” “After talking through a project,” Pat continues, “We outline it. Then Fred does most of the digging and the research, and I write it up on the computer and run off a hard copy. Fred fact-checks and refines it, and then gives it back to me to make his changes and any more of my own.” “Then we run off another hard copy and keep doing that until it satisfies us both,” Fred adds.

This collaboration has led to the publication of several award-winning titles, including their 2003 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, Days of Jubilee. The end of slavery is one of the most important events in the history of the United States, but there was not one single day when all of the slaves were freed. The McKissacks drew from slave narratives, letters, and diaries to document the days, weeks, and years leading to freedom.

They were very excited about their collaboration, Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers, a 2000 Coretta Scott King Honor Book. “We've written extensively about slavery in America, but I never realized how important free black sailors were to the Underground Railroad and to the abolitionist movement. They've helped in more ways than we can imagine.”

The research for Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters, took the McKissacks on a writer's treasure hunt through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. “We visited and studied the interior designs of the Shirley Plantation and the Berkley Plantation, homes of former presidents; and Colonial Williamsburg and Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. We searched for Christmas stories, recipes, songs, games, toys, and dances. Many people helped us, and we are very grateful to them.

Pat has written several novels on her own. “When I'm writing fiction, I think the book through first. I walk around with a manuscript in my head a year or sometimes longer-until I have very clearly in my mind a beginning, a middle, and an end. This doesn't mean that I won't change an ending or a setting or even a central character, but I can't work until I know where I'm going.”

Fred and Pat McKissack live in Chesterfield, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. When they aren't traveling for research, they travel for fun. In addition to writing books and articles, Fred Jr. works as a Senior Copywriter at an Internet marketing agency. He and his wife, Lisa Beringer McKissack, live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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  Messy Bessey (Revised Edition) by Fredrick McKissack, Patricia C. McKissack and Dana Regan SET FEATURES:     Familiar ideas, objects, actions, and vocabulary     Simple, short sentences     Frequent word repetition     One to four lines of text per spread     "New word" lists help build reading vocabularies     Skill-specific series promotes independent reading     Meets Reading First funding $13.65 You save: 30% Library Binding | Grades 1-2

  
  Messy Bessey (Revised Edition)
  Grades 1-2 $13.65
  
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  	Black Diamond by Patricia C. McKissack From Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-winner McKissack and her son, here is an award-winning tribute to unsung heroes of the Negro Baseball Leagues. "An exceptional narrative of a vivid era in U.S. sports history. Spirited, entertaining and well-researched...an eyeopener." - The Boston Globe. $5.99 Paperback Book | Grades 3-5

  
  Black Diamond
  Grades 3-5 $5.99