Anna Egan Smucker
Anna Egan Smucker Books & Publications
Click book images to order or learn more about each book.
No Star Nights
No Star Nights
No Star Nights was my first published book. It's a story about growing up in a steel town in the 1950s, published in 1989 by Alfred A. Knopf. Illustrated by Steve Johnson. No Star Nights received quite a bit of recognition including:
- 1990 International Reading Association Children’s Book Award
- 1989 American Library Association Notable Book
- 1989 Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
Outside the Window
Outside the Window
Outside The Window is my second published book. It's a bedtime story, “gentle as a lullaby,” published by Knopf in 1994. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett, reprinted in 2005 by Quarrier Press.
It's been described as:
"A pleasant tuck-me-in.” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"The quietly appealing narrative and warm, richly hued illustrations are just right for bedtime.” - The Horn Book
It's been described as:
"A pleasant tuck-me-in.” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"The quietly appealing narrative and warm, richly hued illustrations are just right for bedtime.” - The Horn Book
To Keep the South Manitou Light
South Manitou Light
To Keep the South Manitou Light is a fast-paced historical novel (ages 8 and up) set on an island in Lake Michigan, published by Wayne State University Press, 2005. Winner of a 2006 Literary Merit Award presented by the Historical Society of Michigan.
The editor of "Biography for Beginners" says:
"To Keep the South Manitou Light is an exciting, well-paced narrative that captures the era as well as the continuing allure of Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula. An interesting and well-written addition to the historical literature genre for young readers.”
The editor of "Biography for Beginners" says:
"To Keep the South Manitou Light is an exciting, well-paced narrative that captures the era as well as the continuing allure of Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula. An interesting and well-written addition to the historical literature genre for young readers.”
Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Apple Story
Golden Delicious
Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Apple Story, Albert Whitman & Company, September 1, 2008. Illustrated by Kathleen Kemly.
Booklist had this to say about my newest book:
"This lively, true tale is set in the American heartland more than 100 years ago. The Stark brothers dream of cultivating the perfect new apple ...A poor farmer in the hills of West Virginia finds a new tree with Golden Delicious apples in his field...(The Starks) rush by train and on horseback,find the tree, and graft twigs onto their own apple trees. Since then, Golden Delicious apples have become known as the queen of the apple world ... A note fills in the botany, including how grafting works, and the folksy, colored-pencil illustrations, shaded with lots of earthy golds and greens, show the ordinary people who find glowing surprise."
Booklist had this to say about my newest book:
"This lively, true tale is set in the American heartland more than 100 years ago. The Stark brothers dream of cultivating the perfect new apple ...A poor farmer in the hills of West Virginia finds a new tree with Golden Delicious apples in his field...(The Starks) rush by train and on horseback,find the tree, and graft twigs onto their own apple trees. Since then, Golden Delicious apples have become known as the queen of the apple world ... A note fills in the botany, including how grafting works, and the folksy, colored-pencil illustrations, shaded with lots of earthy golds and greens, show the ordinary people who find glowing surprise."
The Life of Saint Brigid
The Life of St. Brigid
The Life of Saint Brigid, Appletree Press, Belfast, UK, 2007. Many readers have remarked how much the book's cover reminds them of a missallete.
A website all about Saint Brigid says The Life of Saint Brigid is:
"Beautifully produced little book with the Life of the Saint, Legends of the Goddess, Customs, Prayers and instructions to make Brigid's Cross."
Note: The easiest way for U.S. residents to order The Life of Saint Brigid is to email me at wvsmucker@aol.com.
A website all about Saint Brigid says The Life of Saint Brigid is:
"Beautifully produced little book with the Life of the Saint, Legends of the Goddess, Customs, Prayers and instructions to make Brigid's Cross."
Note: The easiest way for U.S. residents to order The Life of Saint Brigid is to email me at wvsmucker@aol.com.
A History of West Virginia
History of West Virginia
The West Virginia story stretches back to the mists of prehistory and forward to the day before yesterday. During those many years, our land has been inhabited by the mysterious Mound Builders, by the Native American who followed them, and by the explorers, pioneers, slaves, and immigrants who contributed to the present population.
This book presents the history of the Mountain State as a lively tale of conflict and triumph, as West Virginians have stood up for themselves and the place they love. The larger-than-life figures—John Henry, John Brown, Mother Jones, the Hatfields, Chief Logan and Stonewall Jackson, among others—who populate our past are shown here as the rightful forebears of today’s generation of Mountaineers.
"The history of West Virginia is the story of a place whose hills and hollows are a part of its people, a place where family has always been important," Ms. Smucker writes in her Introduction. "It is the story of people proud to call this beautiful, rugged land home."
This book presents the history of the Mountain State as a lively tale of conflict and triumph, as West Virginians have stood up for themselves and the place they love. The larger-than-life figures—John Henry, John Brown, Mother Jones, the Hatfields, Chief Logan and Stonewall Jackson, among others—who populate our past are shown here as the rightful forebears of today’s generation of Mountaineers.
"The history of West Virginia is the story of a place whose hills and hollows are a part of its people, a place where family has always been important," Ms. Smucker writes in her Introduction. "It is the story of people proud to call this beautiful, rugged land home."
Other Publications & Recognition
Poems published in the anthologies: The Best of West Virginia Writers, A Gathering at the Forks, and Wild Sweet Notes, and Seeking the Swan.
Author, or co-author with her husband, of parts of over thirty teacher’s editions, workbooks, and student texts in the areas of reading and social studies for the Macmillan/McGraw Hill School Division.
Recipient of a 2005 West Virginia Arts Commission Artist Fellowship Award in Children’s Literature.
Author, or co-author with her husband, of parts of over thirty teacher’s editions, workbooks, and student texts in the areas of reading and social studies for the Macmillan/McGraw Hill School Division.
Recipient of a 2005 West Virginia Arts Commission Artist Fellowship Award in Children’s Literature.