Wikipedia

Sally Hobart Alexander

Sally Hobart Alexander is an American writer of children's literature. She is best known for her books about her experiences as a blind person.

Sally Hobart Alexander
Born
Owensboro, Kentucky
Alma materBucknell University
University of Pittsburgh
OccupationWriter of children's books
AwardsChristopher Award (1995)

Early life and education

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Sally Hobart was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, the daughter of Robert Hobart and Kate Hobart.[1] She graduated from Hazelton High School,[2] and Bucknell University.[3] She earned a master's degree in social work at the University of Pittsburgh.[4]

Career

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After her undergraduate degree, Alexander taught third-grade students in Southern California,[5] when a rare disease caused blood vessels in her retina to break, which eventually led to total blindness.[6] She told Contemporary Authors, "I was unhappy to leave that last year [of my teaching], when my visual difficulties began. I entered an excellent training program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for newly blinded adults. For a year afterward, I taught at the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind."[4]

Alexander embarked on a writing career in children's fiction with the publication of her first book, Mom Can't See Me (1990), in which Alexander depicts a loving family that has learned to cope with having a blind parent. She has published eight titles as of 2008,[7] including two memoirs, Taking Hold (1994) and On My Own (1997),[8][9] and a young readers' biography of Laura Bridgman.[10]

Alexander teaches literature and writing in the Chatham University Master of Fine Arts Program in Children's and Adolescent Writing.[4] She received the 1995 Christopher Award for Taking Hold: My Journey into Blindness.[1]

Personal life

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Sally Hobart married Bob Alexander, an English professor. They have two children and live in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.[11] In recent years, she has developed hearing loss, and wears hearing aids.[7] "Although I don't minimize the challenges of my deaf-blindness," she wrote in 2010, "I do believe that were I to lose all my hearing, I would still find meaning and joy in reading and writing books."[12]

Books

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  • Mom Can't See Me, children's semi-autobiographical (New York: Macmillan, 1990).[13]
  • Sarah's Surprise, fiction (New York: Macmillan, 1990).[14]
  • Mom's Best Friend, children's semi-autobiographical (New York: Macmillan, 1992).[15]
  • Maggie's Whopper, fiction (New York: Macmillan, 1992).[16]
  • Taking Hold: My Journey into Blindness , nonfiction autobiographical (New York: Macmillan, 1994).[9]
  • On My Own: The Journey Continues, nonfiction autobiographical (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997).[17]
  • Do You Remember the Color Blue? And Other Questions Kids Ask about Blindness, nonfiction (New York: Viking, 2000).[18]
  • She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer, (co-author with Robert Alexander) nonfiction (New York: Clarion Books, 2008).[10]

Sources

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  1. ^ a b "Sally Hobart Alexander to get '95 Christopher Award". Standard-Speaker. 1995-02-18. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Class Holds Reunion". Standard-Speaker. 2011-11-14. pp. A9. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Sally Hobart Alexander speaker for Lions party for the blind". Standard-Speaker. 1975-12-03. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2003. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000119400.
  5. ^ "Author to Appear at Library Anniversary". Standard-Speaker. 1997-09-21. p. 47. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Lee, Elizabeth (1995-03-01). "Children's book author shares unique experiences with pupils". News Record. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "About Sally Alexander". Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  8. ^ "Meet Sally Hobart Alexander". Houghton Mifflin Reading. Archived from the original on 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  9. ^ a b Toren, Suzanne. "TAKING HOLD by Sally Hobart Alexander Read". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  10. ^ a b Alexander, Sally Hobart; Alexander, Robert Joseph (2008). She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-blind Pioneer. Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0-618-85299-4.
  11. ^ Fromm, Ann McKenna (1990-08-26). "Squirrel Hill Author's Books Offer Lesson in Living". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 146. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart (2010-04-10). "Opening my mind". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart. (1990). Mom can't see me. Ancona, George (1st ed.). New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-700401-5. OCLC 20357600.
  14. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart. (1990). Sarah's surprise. Kastner, Jill (1st American ed.). New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-700391-4. OCLC 20131989.
  15. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart. (1992). Mom's best friend. Ancona, George. (1st ed.). New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-700393-0. OCLC 25051058.
  16. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart. (1992). Maggie's whopper. Ray, Deborah Kogan, 1940- (1st ed.). New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-700201-2. OCLC 23143894.
  17. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart (1997). On My Own: The Journey Continues. Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-35641-5.
  18. ^ Alexander, Sally Hobart. (2000). Do you remember the color blue? : and other questions kids ask about blindness. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-88043-4. OCLC 41488721.
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