2008 Woodie Awards
Award-winning children's author shares stories
By: Amy Swanson
Issue date: 11/17/05 Section: LifeStyle
It was story time Nov. 13 in Emerson Library. Students gathered for a lesson in history and storytelling from award-winning children's author and illustrator Cheryl Harness.
A Missouri native, Harness grew up in Independence, which she likes to point out is also the hometown of former President Harry S. Truman. Harness loved to learn and draw as a young girl. Being the oldest of seven children, she said it often felt like her only escape from such a big and busy family.
"I made it my business to be an only child," Harness said.
She turned her energy toward history and developed a great love for reading. Her favorite books were by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which she often read several times over.
She eventually set her sights on becoming an art teacher. She attended Central Missouri State University, but when she began teaching she quickly realized she was in the wrong profession.
"I had trouble executing education classes," Harness said. "For me, teaching was going down a street with no porch lights on."
After college she worked as a waitress, short-order cook, sold art supplies and drew greeting cards for Hallmark. In 1985, she went to New York to jumpstart her dream of becoming an illustrator.
"I wanted to do something that would last longer than a birthday card, and books are a way of being immortal," Harness said. "You can read people's thoughts from hundreds of years ago."
Her first illustration was the cover of a book published in 1986 by Patricia Clapp called "Constance." She read over the book, which was about the pilgrims coming to New England, and began to develop inspiration for the drawing.
"I was so taken by the courage of these people," Harness said. "I wanted to honor these people and honor their memory by doing the best picture I could do."
Harness received $600 for her first illustration, which led to about 10 more book illustrations. She even found it fun to add little hints of herself in her illustrations. She said she often put her dog or cats in her pictures as well as her relatives, but just the ones she liked.
A Missouri native, Harness grew up in Independence, which she likes to point out is also the hometown of former President Harry S. Truman. Harness loved to learn and draw as a young girl. Being the oldest of seven children, she said it often felt like her only escape from such a big and busy family.
"I made it my business to be an only child," Harness said.
She turned her energy toward history and developed a great love for reading. Her favorite books were by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which she often read several times over.
She eventually set her sights on becoming an art teacher. She attended Central Missouri State University, but when she began teaching she quickly realized she was in the wrong profession.
"I had trouble executing education classes," Harness said. "For me, teaching was going down a street with no porch lights on."
After college she worked as a waitress, short-order cook, sold art supplies and drew greeting cards for Hallmark. In 1985, she went to New York to jumpstart her dream of becoming an illustrator.
"I wanted to do something that would last longer than a birthday card, and books are a way of being immortal," Harness said. "You can read people's thoughts from hundreds of years ago."
Her first illustration was the cover of a book published in 1986 by Patricia Clapp called "Constance." She read over the book, which was about the pilgrims coming to New England, and began to develop inspiration for the drawing.
"I was so taken by the courage of these people," Harness said. "I wanted to honor these people and honor their memory by doing the best picture I could do."
Harness received $600 for her first illustration, which led to about 10 more book illustrations. She even found it fun to add little hints of herself in her illustrations. She said she often put her dog or cats in her pictures as well as her relatives, but just the ones she liked.