Verla Kay bio

Verla Kay is a native Californian .The birth of her dream to write came when for a few years, Verla ran a licensed daycare from her home, . While she read books to the children, Verla couldn't stop thinking about writing stories of her own. Finally, the call to WRITE became too strong and in 1989 she signed up for a correspondence course through the Institute of Children's Literature in Connecticut. During the next two years, she studied and practiced and learned what it took to write and sell stories for children.

After selling two short stories, one to Turtle Magazine and one to Humpty Dumpty's Magazine, and after being rejected for three and a half years, in December of 1994 her first picture book, MOVING ON (name later changed to COVERED WAGONS, BUMPY TRAILS,) was pulled from the slush pile at G.P. PUtnam's Sons. Six months later Putnam purchased a second and then (at a rate of about one per year) nine more historical picture books in rhyme. Her non-fiction biography, ROUGH, TOUGH CHARLEY, which is also written in rhyme, was published by Tricycle Press in May of 2007. It received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly.

It was while Verla was working as a desk clerk in a motel that she found herself chatting with a special couple. Some things she said about her writing triggered events that eventually led to her gaining a terrific agent in New York who was able to negotiate much better terms for Verla on her third picture book contract than what she would have been able to get on her own.

Verla's books have gotten starred reviews from such prestegious places as Kirkus Reviews, Publisher's Weekly, and School Library Journal. GOLD FEVER was on San Francisco library system's "recommended reading list" and was named by Bank Street College of Education as one of the "Best Books of the Year." IRON HORSES was named to the Children's Book Council's Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2000 list, and it was also named a Society of School Librarians' International Honor Book in 1999. COVERED WAGONS, BUMPY TRAILS was recommended by the Missouri Reading Circle for Primary Grades 1-4 and a license to use the text has been "purchased" to be put into a 2nd grade social studies program for 7 years. TATTERED SAILS was named to the Children's Book Council's Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2002 list, and has been named a Children's Best Book by Child Magazine.

Verla is now an ICL instructor in writing children’s books, teaching others to do what she has learned to do.

Current Books: Gold Fever, Iron Horses,Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails, Broken Feather (out of print,) Tattered Sails, Homespun Sarah, Orphan Train (out of print,) all by Putnam and Rough, Tough Charley - Tricycle Press. Forthcoming books by Putnam are Hornbooks & Inkwells - TBA, Drummer Boy - TBA and Pony Express - spring of 2010.