Mel Boring
Encyclopedia
Mel Boring is an American children's author specializing in non-fiction. A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
, Boring has produced works such as Incredible Constructions and the People Who Built Them; Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies; and Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine (coauthored with Leslie Dendy). Boring also travels the world to speak to students about book writing and publishing while he wears a Cat-in-the-Hat costume.
, Zachary Michael, and Katrina Lynne.
Boring earned his B. A. from Sterling College
, Sterling, Kansas, in 1961 and attended Princeton Theological Seminary
in Princeton, New Jersey, where he received his Master of Divinity (M. Div.) in 1965.
Boring, who has had a long and varied career, began as an educator, which sparked his interest in writing books for children. He claims that he had difficulty learning to read in early childhood, although he loved to hear books read to him. Those books, especially Dr. Seuss
’s The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
, served as inspiration for his career in writing.
and Cricket
. Boring's first 12 fiction submissions to children's magazines received a total of 143 rejections with only one acceptance. He also spent 18 years as an Institute of Children's Literature
instructor, teaching hundreds of his students how to write for children.
"I had always had an unfocused interest in writing. It came into focus as I was reading to my students in a one-room school in Michigan in 1970. I saw such enjoyment in their eyes that it made me want to give that enjoyment myself. So I began writing magazine stories and articles in order to gain the experience that would teach me how to write."
"At first I thought of children's books as a stepping stone to writing 'serious' books for adults. But stepping along the stones, I found my imagination being captured by a world of literature that I had never taken seriously. I've been a willing captive of children's books ever since."
"What I discovered is that children's books are serious literature. They are roads that children travel as they develop into adults. Hopefully, the ideas they feed on along the way in books will be included in their adult selves and not surrendered to the demands of a falsely sophisticated adult world in which imagination is often undernourished."
"There is much in adult media that fails to exercise imagination and thus threatens to 'obsolesce' it. Imaginative children's books can deliver a child's imagination intact into their adult self. For me, this has made writing children's books a pretty serious business. But fortunately, humor is one of the tools I have found most useful. It keeps us from the opposite extreme that also smothers imagination: taking life too seriously."
"I take neither rejections nor acceptances too seriously. The rejection of a manuscript can be the road to its revision and acceptance, and continual acceptance can be the road to unimaginative books. Long live rejection and acceptance, and longer live imaginative children's books!"
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is a nonprofit, 5013 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers and others involved with literature for young people.The...
, Boring has produced works such as Incredible Constructions and the People Who Built Them; Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies; and Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine (coauthored with Leslie Dendy). Boring also travels the world to speak to students about book writing and publishing while he wears a Cat-in-the-Hat costume.
Biography
Boring was born September 12, 1939, in St. Clair Shores, MI, the son of Harold Truman (an electrician) and Helen Irene (Hatfield) Boring. He married Carol Lynne Trettin (a registered nurse) on June 21, 1975. He has four children: Joshua Scott, actor Jeremy DaviesJeremy Davies (actor)
Jeremy Davies is an American film and television actor. He is known for portraying the interpreter Cpl. Timothy E. Upham in the film Saving Private Ryan and the physicist Daniel Faraday on the television series Lost. He most recently appeared in the FX series, Justified, as Dickie Bennett.-Early...
, Zachary Michael, and Katrina Lynne.
Boring earned his B. A. from Sterling College
Sterling College (Kansas)
Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year liberal arts college located in Sterling, Kansas with a mission "to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith." The school is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and...
, Sterling, Kansas, in 1961 and attended Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
in Princeton, New Jersey, where he received his Master of Divinity (M. Div.) in 1965.
Boring, who has had a long and varied career, began as an educator, which sparked his interest in writing books for children. He claims that he had difficulty learning to read in early childhood, although he loved to hear books read to him. Those books, especially Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
’s The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is a children's book, written by Dr. Seuss and published by Vanguard in 1938. Unlike the majority of Dr. Seuss's books, it is written in prose rather than rhyming and metered verse...
, served as inspiration for his career in writing.
Career
Boring has published 12 books and over 25 stories in such magazines as Highlights for ChildrenHighlights for Children
Highlights for Children is an American children's magazine. It began publication in June 1946, started by Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania...
and Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. Boring's first 12 fiction submissions to children's magazines received a total of 143 rejections with only one acceptance. He also spent 18 years as an Institute of Children's Literature
Institute of Children's Literature
The Institute of Children's Literature is an institute founded in 1969 that offers a course entitled "Writing for Children and Teenagers". Completing the course is worth six college credits, which can be obtained from Charter Oak State College...
instructor, teaching hundreds of his students how to write for children.
Outside of writing
- Elementary school teacher, Meriden, KS, 1961–62
- Assistant director, Chi Alpha Student Center, Berkeley, CA, 1965–67
- Ordained interdenominational minister, 1966
- Director of student conferences and seminars, Inter-Church Team Ministries, Newhall, CA, 1967–69
- Elementary school teacher, Monroe Center, MI, 1969–71
- Junior high school mathematics teacher, Palmdale, CA, 1971–76
- Fireman, Volunteer Fire Department, Green Valley, CA, 1972–76
- Radio announcer, 1976–80
- High school teacher of social studies, Vergennes, VT, 1978–80
- Writer and editor, Hoffman Information Systems, 1972–74
- Editor, Children's Writer's E-News, 2003–06
Books
- Sealth: The Story of an American Indian, Dillon, 1978.
- The Rainmaker, Random House (New York, NY), 1980.
- Clowns: The Fun Makers, Messner, 1980.
- Wovoka: The Story of an American Indian, Dillon, 1980.
- Incredible Constructions and the People Who Built Them, Walker (New York, NY), 1984.
- Birds, Nests, and Eggs, NorthWord (Minnetonka, MN), 1996.
- Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies, NorthWord (Minnetonka, MN), 1996.
- Rabbits, Squirrels, and Chipmunks, illustrated by Linda Garrow, NorthWord (Minnetonka, MN), 1996; 2nd. ed., Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 2000.
- Fun with Nature, co-authored with Diane L. Burns and Leslie Dendy, illustrated by Linda Garrow, NorthWord (Minnetonka, MN), 1999.
- Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine, co-authored with Leslie Dendy, illustrated by C.B. Mordan, Holt (New York, NY), 2005.
- Flamingos, Loons, and Pelicans, illustrated by Andrew Recher, NorthWord (Minnetonka, MN), 2006.
Magazines
- Highlights for Children
- Young World
- Children's Playmate
- Cricket
Honors and awards
- Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators of Iowa Award
- BooklistBooklistBooklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
Top Ten Science Books for Youth designation (2005) - Book LinksBook LinksBook Links began as a magazine published by the American Library Association that helps teachers, librarians, school library media specialists, and parents connect children with high-quality books. It is now "published as a quarterly print supplement to Booklist, at no additional cost to...
Lasting Connections designation (2005) - Subaru Science Books and Films Prize finalist (2006)
- American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
Best Books for Young Adults designation (2006) - New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
Book for the Teen Age designation (2006)
Quotations
"A young friend of my son's once asked me if I had 'made' the book Clowns: The Fun Makers. I started to correct him, saying that I had 'written' it. Then I realized that making a book is more correct. Publishing a book is more than writing. It's the revision, the publisher-seeking, the chaptering, the art-work, the meeting of deadlines, the intensive work with a book's editors. And the unparalleled thrill of holding in your hands the result of a creative idea once inside your head and heart.""I had always had an unfocused interest in writing. It came into focus as I was reading to my students in a one-room school in Michigan in 1970. I saw such enjoyment in their eyes that it made me want to give that enjoyment myself. So I began writing magazine stories and articles in order to gain the experience that would teach me how to write."
"At first I thought of children's books as a stepping stone to writing 'serious' books for adults. But stepping along the stones, I found my imagination being captured by a world of literature that I had never taken seriously. I've been a willing captive of children's books ever since."
"What I discovered is that children's books are serious literature. They are roads that children travel as they develop into adults. Hopefully, the ideas they feed on along the way in books will be included in their adult selves and not surrendered to the demands of a falsely sophisticated adult world in which imagination is often undernourished."
"There is much in adult media that fails to exercise imagination and thus threatens to 'obsolesce' it. Imaginative children's books can deliver a child's imagination intact into their adult self. For me, this has made writing children's books a pretty serious business. But fortunately, humor is one of the tools I have found most useful. It keeps us from the opposite extreme that also smothers imagination: taking life too seriously."
"I take neither rejections nor acceptances too seriously. The rejection of a manuscript can be the road to its revision and acceptance, and continual acceptance can be the road to unimaginative books. Long live rejection and acceptance, and longer live imaginative children's books!"
Further reading
- Something About the Author v. 35, 1984, Gale Res, Anne Commire, Biography: Mel Boring, p. 314.
- Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators of Iowa Web site, "Mel Boring"(March 27, 2007)