WARNING: You will need Adobe Flash Player 6 or above to view this website. Click here to download it or here if you know you already have it. Student Letters Hi Mrs. Draper! I just want to say how much your books have inspired me. Tears Of a Tiger, Darkness Before Dawn, and Forged by Fire were the most amazing books I have ever read. I used to struggle with reading and I absolutely HATED it.. Then one day my older sister suggested Tears Of a Tiger and I fell in love with books. I think it is because I can relate to the things in your books, and its on real topics. Because of your books I will NeVeR eVeR drink and drive.. or deal with anorexia.. or older guys, because before that it was as if all those things were calling out my name. I just wanted to thank you for your impact on my life. Because of you I moved my life into a whole other direction. You have no idea how much you impacted me just by a few hundred of pages filled with words. Thank you so much. You're amazing and I look up to you. Dear Ms. Draper, You are my inspiration and you teach me things now that I am becoming a teenager there are not many people who take time to make books like that to teach young teens a lesson and I really appreciate and admire you for doing that you should be very proud of yourself. God Bless You. Dear Mrs. Sharon, I read Tears of a Tiger, Forged By Fire, Darkness Before Dawn, Double Dutch, and I am now reading Romiette and Julio, and I can say I LOVE YOUR BOOKS! Sharon, you have a great mind full of colors and imagination, and I am so so thankful for you and your great books. At my old school, one class was reading Tears of a Tiger, and it was spreading around like germs! If you didn't read that book, you were a loser, so everybody had to get that. Then I read Forged By Fire, then all the rest. Sharon, you helped me get in a habit of reading. Everywhere I go I take a book with me. I used to hate reading until I read one of your books, and I want to say THANKS for helping me. I'm not the same person no more. So Sharon can you please make more books for kids--I'm almost done with the ones you already wrote. Dear Mrs. D, I am a high school senior in Atlanta, Georgia. When I first got your book as an assignment from my teacher two weeks before spring break, I was royally pissed. Boy after I read the first chapter I was hooked. I could not put the book down. I finally finished the book the day after I received it. My entire class acted the same way. My cousin was killed in a drunk driving accident so I can relate to most of the characters. I would like to thank you for creating such a moving novel. I will tell everyone I know to read Tears of a Tiger, and I cant wait to read your other two books even though they will not be assigned in class. Hey Miss Draper: Well I just finished your magnificent book The Battle Of Jericho it was wicked book. I loved it but it was really sad (I cried ). Dear Ms. Draper I had to read books for school so I can get enough AR points to pass my comprehension goals. And I didn't care for reading at all. I thought that reading books was a waste of time and money to spend on things that you don't enjoy. But I had to pick out a book from the library and read it and take an AR test on it. So that's when I saw the book you wrote called Tears of a Tiger on the shelf and I heard from other friends it was a great book so I read the back of it and I thought the book looked good too, so I got it. Then I finished the book in about 3 or 4 days and I LOVED it! It was so good and so unpredictable I had to keep on reading to find out what would happen next. I thought Tears of a Tiger was such a good book and I loved it so much, the next day I returned the book and got the other book by you called Forged by Fire. And that I loved too! your such a good writer and have such wonderful detail to your books! I think your the most talented author in the world. The book was unpredictable as well and so good I had to go back to the library the next day and get Darkness Before Dawn. I thought that book was great too! I've learned that reading can be fun if you choose the right book your interested in, and I am totally interested in your books. In fact, right now, I am reading the book Romiette and Julio. I can't wait to see what happens! I thank you so much for getting me interested in reading because it has helped my Language Arts grade in school and helped me become more of a reader! I hope you have a great evening! Hey, Ms. D, I have read a few of your books, Forged By Fire, Darkness Before Dawn, and Tears of A Tiger. In my English class we read Tears of a Tiger, the guys who are "BAD" cried, the quiet kids read out loud. Your books make people wanna read, and cry, and to think of what could really happen to people our ages. You are a excellent writer keep up the good work!!!!!! Dear Ms. Draper, I admire you so much. I think you are a creative writer and the kind of person I look up to because you don't let your past mess up your future and because you've done that you were successful and achieved a goal. You make wonderful, deep, sincere, books that tons of messages out to the readers and that's just one of the thousands of reasons I love to read your books. Every time I open your books there's another surprise. They're the only book that I ever refused to put down. It grabs me. I can explain how much you inspire me and how many lessons you've taught me through your books. I've never been so caught up with any other book. They're so unpredictable. You make reading so much fun! I've read Tears of a Tiger, Darkness Before Dawn, Forged By Fire, and Romiette and Julio. I can't wait to read the other ones, and I can't ever thank you enough for changing the way I look at things and the fact that you made reading and writing so fun. Dear Ms. Draper, I have read your book "Forged By Fire" and it was so good it was like honey oats and I was a horse enjoying every moment of it. The part that I liked in the book was the fist chapter when Gerald said " I know not to mess with mamma when she is sniffing the white stuff". My eyes were glued to the pages. I thnk that you're book was extraordinary. I could read your book a millon times. Your book was great because you had non-readers wanting to read your book and they couldn't put it down when the bell rang. I think you are a good role model for young writers. Dear Mrs. Draper: The reason that I am writing is to let you know that you are the best author that I have ever known. I know that there are millions of authors here on earth, but you're the one who taught me to like to read. I have read your Hazelwood trilogy. They are great! I never liked reading by myself before, because it would put me to sleep. When I started reading your novels, I didn't want to do anything, but finish as fast as I could. All the novels made me cry. I told my friends about your novels and that you are a great author. Can I be your number one fan? Thank you for writing a good story for us. God bless you and we love you! Dear Ms. Draper, You visited my school today. I loved that assembly. You are so energetic and funny. I thought you would be old like the ladies at my church. Dear Mrs. Draper, I met you and bought all of your books but I didn't really read them. I just threw them in a corner and didn't bother with them. but last week in we started to read FORGED BY FIRE.. So I was all like cool that means I can get some zzzzzzzzz's in before next class.. But as she started reading it the more I got in to it. Before that you couldn't pay me to sit down and read a book there was no way around it. Books weren't my thing but in 7th grade I found out that I loved to sit down and write poems.. No book or poem has ever made me CRY. Well I didn't cry in front of everyone at school either you can keep that between me and you.. cause I'm one of those kids that has a rough shell, if you know what I mean. Well I just wanted to let you know that you are the best writer I have ever read any thing from. Your books have really touched me. GO ON WIT CHA BAD SELF WOMAN!... Hi Ms. D, I am 16 and I am a junior in high school. I hated reading until my freshman year my English teacher read your book "Tears of a Tiger" to our class, I was so into that book I bought it the next day when she finished it. I related so much to it because someone who was very close to me was killed in a car accident that year and I related to Andy so well. I have all your books and I just finished Romiette and Julio ( love it!) Thank you so much for your books. Please don't stop writing. I relate in some way to each and every character, they help me through a bad day. Thank you! Dear Ms. Draper, Last year I read a few okay books, but none that I really got into. I asked my teacher if she had any recommendations. She took out the Book Romiette and Julio. It was a very thick book and I didn't think I'd like it. I started reading it and couldn't stop. I could really connect to Romi, Ben, Destiny, and Julio. The story was so real! The first chapter was the most confusing, but when I was done with the book, that chapter made perfect sense. I finished the book in about a week and a half. The ending was so good I never wanted it to end! Dear Mrs. Draper, My Aunt gave me Tears Of a Tiger for Christmas and I was-how can I say this...-to be honest kind of ashamed that she got me a book for Christmas. I'm the type of 15 year old that would never pick up a book to read unless forced in school or something, and usually then I'd just pretend to read them. But I opened the cover and I saw that you signed it and wrote my name in it I felt like big stuff then! I had a real author's signature.. I wasn't planning on reading the book, just keeping it-until one day I read the first page. I just kept reading and reading and reading. That book touched my heart so deeply I'm unable to explain. For my birthday a few weeks ago (I just turned 15 )and I freaked out when I opened one of my presents from my mom, it was Darkness Before Dawn and Forged by fire! I was so happy! I started reading immediately. I had Darkness before Dawn read that day, 4 straight hours of reading--and the weird thing is, I don't regret it. so the next day I started reading Forged by Fire. you have such an impact on my life. Hey, Your book "Forged by Fire" is awesome. My life was similar and I cried when I read it. Hi Ms.Draper, I was emailing you to let you know I really enjoy your books. We've recently just finished reading "Tears of a Tiger" and it bought tears to everyone's eyes, especially my teacher, and she has read it a million times. Now, we are reading "Forged by Fire." But, the point of me writing you is to let you know that your books are very inspiring. It's kind of funny that the dudes around school that think they all tough and hard, can barely make it to class because they're walking and reading one of your books constantly. Everyone in the 8th grade are reading your books. Right now I'm reading "Romiette and Julio". I used to read books only when I'm required to. But, your books have a strong attraction to them where you just can't put it down. Now I read for fun. Dear Ms. Draper, I just wanted to write you and say that I have read most of the books you have written. I have read all of the Hazel Wood High Trilogy and many others. I think why so many young adults like the books in the series is because they feel like they can connect with the characters and not just in the Hazel Wood High Trilogy but in many others. I myself love Tears of a Tiger, Forged by Fire, Darkness before Dawn, and Romiette and Julio. The reason I love these books is because I can connect with the characters in many ways. The characters in your books are soo real. It's as if it is a documentary or something or as if you knew these people yourself. Thank You so very much for making such great books. Dear Ms. Draper, I appreciate you writing me back...I really wasn't expecting a reply, because I know how busy you must be...but replying really shows that you care about the people who enjoy your literature. Thank you for writing me back. Hello. My reading teacher is having us check out books when we need to and read them the do a summary about the book. I recently Read your book " Forged By Fire". It is the BEST book I've ever read!!!!! I think you are pretty much the best author I ever had the pleasure to read a book by. I want to Thank YOU for being you. I hope you the best of luck in ALL your books. And I hope you stick around to write many more. Dear Mrs. Draper, I really appreciate all the books that you have written because sadly they are the only books that I like to read and can't put down. My mom is always begging me to read and says that's how I will get far in life. I know what she is saying is true but I can't do something so much that I don't like. So your books are making me and my mom happy! Ha-ha. Hi Mrs. Draper, My favorite book of them all was Tears of a Tiger. I just wanted to let you know that I cried before I even got to the second page. I am a very emotional person and when it comes to death my emotions take over. I just want you to know that I'm truly a fan and I'll keep reading your books until I turn old. Dear Ms. Draper, I love your books. I can imagine the events happening in my mind's eye. I love to read the books, there is suspense and integrity as well. Tears of a Tiger was very good, and I loved the teenage language. There was dialogue that people my age would hear. The notes were funny, and the English homework assignments were interesting. While reading your book, I was wondering: what will happen next? What will come after this part? What will be the outcome of this book? While reading, I had images in my mind about what would come next. Every new paragraph, my mind would switch ideas, and the ones that came to my mind later on, made more sense. I love your books, and I hope that they can, somehow or another, get made into a movie. I will try to help you out with that. I have my ways of getting things, and I'll try really hard to get you a movie. You'd feel special, wouldn't you? I'll always love your books, so keep on writing. They are interesting and entertaining. Keep up the excellent writing! Dear Ms. D, I am pleased to be able to tell you I have just read your book, "The Battle of Jericho." I am a 8th grade student, and for silent reading in my reading class I was able to read this. I loved this book very much. I liked how you portrayed these high school students as what kids today go through. It showed how important it is to students to be accepted by their peers, and how far some will go just for that. In the story Jericho was not so popular and kind of over weight, so being asked to pledge meant the world to him. Even the girl he like started talking to him, just because of that. It really brings to life that just because of the group your in, it can determine who will notice you. I appreciated that, because that is how it is today. I liked how it showed the peer pressure that was put on Jericho. Kids today are constantly pushed to do things they don't want to, just like Jericho was pressured to keep pledging even though the activities got pretty extreme. I think everyone my age should read this book as we get ready to enter high school. It shows the serious consequences of doing something just because of others. That's the one thing that I liked most about this book. I don't think people should follow; they should become leaders of themselves. This book teaches an important lesson. The story of Jericho is an example of what can happen when certain lines are crossed. Not only can that, but activities like what the pledges had to do be considered hazing. Jericho didn't even realize what they were expected to do, to become a warrior, was illegal. There have been incidences of hazing not to long ago, which also co-inside with how the book relates to teens today. Mrs. Draper, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book and how it touched me. Dear Sharon, I just want to tell you how much your books meant to me. I never liked to read much. In my senior year of high school I got a book report assignment that changed my life! I looked through dozens of books in our school library and none seemed to interest me, then I got a glimpse of a book called, Tears of a Tiger, I picked it up and read the summarization. It sounded good so I signed it out. I had that book finished in two days...I just couldn't put it down! It was the best book I have ever read. I talked to my English teacher about the book I read and she recommended the sequel, Forged by Fire. I went to the library as soon as I possible could and I signed it out. I read that book in only ONE day! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your books! The last time I remember being this excited about read is when I was six years old! Thank you so much for helping me in so many ways through your books! Dear Ms. Draper, You make reading come alive. It's like I was right there in the book! Thank you so much! You don't know how much reading your books mean to me. Please, come out with another "Hazelwood High Series", or something similar to it. This is my only wish so please make it come true! While I was reading your books, I was looking forward to silent reading, everyday. Thank you. Dear Ms. Draper, Your books that you wrote Tears of a Tiger and Forged by Fire are good books. Tears of a Tiger has made me look inside of myself and others. I have lost a friend in a car accident in May of this year it was a sad loss and she will be missed alot just like Andy and Robert. And Forged by Fire was the saddest book I ever read in my whole life. This book is the bomb Ms.Draper . You have showed me alot in this book and I want to thank you for it. Dear Mrs. Draper I guess every kid that writes you tells you how great your story is, and I'm one of them. I think your ideas and the way you write them are revolutionary. I know your writers will change the world of teenage literature. Tears of a Tiger was a book I had to read for English class. I'm not a kid that's very fond of reading, but once in a while I come upon a great book that I just can't help but reading over and over again. Well initially when my teacher said I had to read Tears of a Tiger I was like "YES EASY READ!!!" I never could have imagined how much I would love this book and how much It would affect my life. You book made me laugh and cry and made my sad and angry at the same time. This is a book like no other I have ever read, and I really want to thank you for that. Sharon, I absolutely love all of your books! I usually do not like to read but then I picked up your book "Romiette and Julio" and I couldn't put it down. I have read the book 3 times since last year and I have read "Tears of a Tiger" and "Forged by Fire". All of these books have made me realize how lucky I am to have a good family. I love your books and will continue to read them over and over again. Thank you so much for making me interested in reading. If I didn't read your books I don't think I would be where I am today. Once again THANK YOU!!! I didn't know from the moment I read your first book that my teacher told me to read " Tears Of A Tiger " that I would sincerely enjoy it. Yet, I did. I love it! I love the way you make your stories come alive with passion and feelings! From the moment that I have read your book I just knew that I would enjoy your other books. I'm new to all this, but I didn't know that I would actually enjoy reading a book. WOW! It brings lots of joy to me that someone would actually write a book that I can't wait to read everyday. I thought it would be impossible, but I thought wrong. I am currently reading another book that you have written called " Romiette and Julio". WOW! Oh my gosh! Another shock. I love the way you write it in a way that it isn't boring like " and then he walked to the steps". I like the way that you make conversations, and that's what makes me stuck to your books. I chose to do a report on you, and I'm glad that my teacher gave me " Tears Of a Tiger" to read. It's just WOW! It really is for teens, because we can actually relate to those stories, like depression, harm, and relationships. THANK YOU for inspiring me to read! Hi, I'm 11 years old and I was wondering why don't you make a movie out of your Hazelwood high trilogy? The reason I was wondering this is because everything you said was so true Dear Ms. Draper, The point of this letter is to thank you for your Hazelwood trilogy. I'm a tenth grader and and I hate to read. But when I start your books, I just can't put them down. I really enjoy your work. Like I said, I hate to read, but your books make me want to read. My mom loves the fact that I have found some books that I like and will not stop reading. I have even gotten in trouble in one of my classes for reading your books! Hi Mrs. Draper, I don't know if you will get this or not, but I just wanted to say that I really appreciate this website!!! What a wonderful idea!! I chose to do a research project on you, after reading 4 of your books. I went to do a google search and this site popped up. I was unsure of how I was going to find information on you, and when I saw "Doing a report for school?" it gave me tons of information!! As a senior this is my last research project for high school and I just wanted to thank you! You have helped me and inspired me in more ways than one! Thank you for your time and for all the information! Keep up the good work! ha-ha!! :0) Teacher Letters Dear Ms. Draper, I am sitting here, stunned, at 11:30 at night because of the tremendous impact of your recent novel, The Battle of Jericho. My colleague read the book, called me and said, "You gotta read this now." I picked it up this afternoon, and now I'm choked with emotion and every other normal human is in bed asleep and I just have to talk about how wonderful I think this novel is -- not for just young adults, but for all people (but especially young adults considering the recent hazing incident that just made the news this past June). Ms. Draper, you are so incredibly profound and inspiring and your words are sensational. I can imagine a young person so wanting to be involved in THE group of the school -- I wanted to be in THE group when I was in school -- and I know my students will instantly clamor to the feelings you describe. I wanted to share my favorite passages with you (I hope you don't mind!). "And he wondered whether it was integrity or responsibility he learned from standing in a Dumpster or drinking till he puked or being led around a room like a dog" (275). So many time I want to say something like this to my students when they are making unwise choices -- you have just said it in a far more eloquent way than I ever could formulate! The other line I LOVED was, "He would have said that there's nothing very distinguished about death" (295). WOW -- what a powerful line! What an incredible, pull-out-all-stops, hard hitting, no bull statement to send to kids! I want to frame that line and put in on the doorway of my room to remind kids each and every day of the impact their decisions can have on their lives. The only problem (for lack of a better word) I had with the book was Arielle!! Arghhh!!! I didn't like her response to Jericho at the end! I thought she had more integrity than that -- she seemed deeper and more caring than the crass way she seemed to come across to Jericho. Ah well, that is the richness of your novels -- no stock characters! Complex reactions because real people are complex! I hope I haven't bored you to tears, but your novels are awe-inspiring and give me so many conversational topics and ideas for things I want to weave into my lessons. Thank you for the blessing of your work. Keep writing -- I'm such a fan! Dear Ms. Draper, I have been teaching your books now for approximately 4 years and the students still devour them. thankfully. When I hear that students don't read, I know from experience, that isn't true. It's just many of the text selections are not high interest. Anyway, I feel that I know you and especially wanted you to know how much I appreciate your novels. Romiette and Julio helped me keep my small class of ninth grade special ed students fully engaged during an early release day (a two hour block period) on a Friday before a long weekend. You also saved my sanity. My school is not very diverse; consequently, the book provides insights and connections between my students and people whom they often see only as very different. The students are connecting to Julio even more than they are connecting with Romi. Students are always full of surprises. Thank you for the wonderful novel. Dear Ms. Draper, My students refused to read anything last year. This year I have purchased Forged By Fire and Tears of a Tiger. I cannot keep these books in my room! They are begging to take them home. Mrs. Draper, I know this message is repetitive, but I'm sending it anyway. I love Tears of a Tiger and have been using it as my end of the year novel with my 8th graders for 4 years now. I have approximately 117 students each year. They are very honest in their responses about books, and I have yet to have one student who didn't fall in love with the book! Dear Ms. Draper, I am just writing to thank you for writing your wonderful books for young people. Many of my students are children from the African Diaspora, from the US and the English and Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Access to books that are reflective and respectful of their lives, cultures, and passions, that render them visible in the midst of a media culture where so many of the portrayals are fantastical and negative, is so important. Your books have helped so many of my students re-engage with reading. Everything was boring -- until Forged by Fire, or Romiette and Julio or Tears of A Tiger. On their own, they talked about these books with each other, recommended them to their friends, and were as coolly excited as seventh graders can be about "Sharon Draper's books." Dear Mrs. Draper, I have been teaching "at risk" kids for 10 years. I have NEVER had kids respond to a book the way they responded to "Tears of a Tiger". With an assistant and an aide, I teach all subjects in an old fashioned one room school house. We have English before we go outside for PE and every day the kids wanted to keep reading instead of going outside. My kids come from a wide range of dysfunctional backgrounds and all of them loved it. I just ordered the next 2 in the trilogy. If I didn't, I would be facing a mutiny. Thanks and keep up the good work!! Dear Mrs. Draper, I would really like to thank you for your books. I am a high school English teacher. My 11th graders just read Romiette & Julio. These students are, for the most part, reluctant readers. Without exception they loved this book. They felt a personal connection to the characters and they enjoyed the internet conversations. THANK YOU for writing especially for these students. I admire your dedication, and as a fellow teacher, I thank you for inspiring me to "hang in there". It's a tough world for our teens. Thank you for touching their lives! Dear Ms. Draper, I just finished reading Romiette and Julio, and am leading a discussion of it on Wednesday with my students. I am completely floored! Your book was fantastic! The older I get, the more I think I won't like young adult fiction, and usually I'm pleasantly surprised by what I read with the kids, but your book stunned me - I was immersed in it and thought it was a) modern and entertaining, and b) perfectly appropriate for what kids are dealing with today. I love books that take me on a voyage of emotions, and yours certainly did that. Thanks for a great book, I can't wait to discuss it with my students. Dear Mrs. Draper, You have been an inspiration for me and a blessing to my students. When I heard you speak I knew that you were my role model and that has never changed. This year I had the opportunity to teach Tears of a Tiger to our sophomore students. They are crazy about your book(s) and have begged me to order Forged and Darkness for them. Imagine, an English teaching being begged for books!!! Tomorrow we are doing creative writing projects for Tears and I can hardly wait to get to school. THIS is what teaching should be about, right? Thank you for opening up a whole new world for my students . . . and for me. You are truly a wonderfully gifted woman. Just for the record, because of your inspiration, I never give a writing assignment without taking part in it myself. The kids love it, and so do I. Dear Mrs. Draper, I am mad at you. I usually come home at the end of the school day, take my bra and shoes off and start dinner. You ruined that for me today. For the last two hours I have sat on my sofa with both my bra and my shoes on reading your book, TEACHING FROM THE HEART, from cover to cover. I can no longer breathe through my nose because my head is completely stopped up from crying. My head is pounding because I kept having to read without my glasses on because the tears were streaming down my cheeks. The tissues I used to blow my nose are in a pile on the sofa and I don't care. I am mad. I am mad that I have to wait until tomorrow to show this book to my dear teaching friend who will also be mad because she will cry as hard as I did. I am mad. I am mad because you are the teacher I want to be. I have taught middle school students for 34 years and reading your book has convinced me that I don't have enough time left in my life to be the kind of teacher I want to be. I am mad. I am mad that I have to wait until Tuesday to share this book with the group of teachers I work with every Tuesday afternoon from 3 until 4 on motivation, discipline, and instruction. How can I possibly move them as you have moved me? How can I read them passages from your book without having tears run down my cheeks? How can I convince them to be the best teachers they can be because we already have enough mediocre teachers? How am I ever going to be able to convince my principal that I need 20 copies of your book as required reading for my teachers? And, finally, I am mad that I am not going to get sleep tonight. All I can think of is my butterflies and how many of them may not fly because of what I could have done today and didn't. How can I reach Antwon who is failing and has a mother that won't come in for a conference because she has given up on him? How do I convince Shontae that she would be a great teacher when she's busy being angry over the fact that her mother has left her, her father is a drunk, and she doesn't know from week to week what relative she will be living with? How do I help Jimmy learn to write a cohesive paragraph when all he can worry about is whether his step-father will have too much to drink tonight and beat him? And that's just the front row. Feeling old and tired today, I told my students that I can retire in July. They wanted to know what I would do for fun if I didn't teach. I didn't have an answer. Then they told me to please be quiet so they could finish reading their novels. I want to be a teacher. I want to be the best teacher I can possibly be. There is not enough time left. I have so many people yet to touch. Thank you for making me miserable enough to try again tomorrow. I'll do a better job. I promise. I am not sure if you remember me, but I am the person whose life you have touched in a very special way. Your book "Teaching From the Heart" helped give me the encouragement I needed to survive a not so great mentee experience. Meeting you at the Children's Literature Conference provided me with the additional stamina I needed to complete my intense teaching certification/Master's in Education program. I will be graduating on Monday and wanted to take a moment to again say "thank you." You have inspired me more than you could possibly know. Thanks so much for being the beautiful person that you are and for touching the lives of so many children. You are a gift, and I treasure you. Sharon, I had the opportunity to listen to you speak at our IRA meeting last month. I purchased two of your Ziggy books for my fourth grade. I am just about to finish reading the second one during library today. My students love the books. I have never seen them so excited and anxious to come to class. Thank you for writing these fantastic books. Dear Sharon, I met you recently at the NCCJ spring conference. I just wanted to thank you for you dynamic personality and your words of encouragement to those of us who have been called to be teachers. Like a religious vocation, I believe with all my heart that if you are not "called" to teach, you had better not try it - it isn't the path fot you. Sometimes, though, I feel discouraged and think that it is just too much - and then I hear words from someone like you - or a former student who comes bounding into my room after school telling me that another class just does not get The Great Gatsby and how they debated the character of Nick Carroway at lunch and "mrs Flanagan, they just don't get it - why can't Mr._____________ teach them to love literature the way you taught us." WOW - as you know, a comment like that can make the year for a teacher, and I left the building walking on a cloud! I just wanted to say thank you again for answering your "call." Dear Ms. Draper, I work with struggeling readers in the seventh and eight grade at a rural school in Highland Home, Alabama. Thank you for your wonderful books. We are reading Forged by Fire and I cannot believe they way all my students come into the room begging to read. The will complete any other work I ask them to do to get to read the novel. The grades are higher this six weeks than they have been all year. These two classes have chosen you as their author for our school's Read Across America Celebration. They are terrific kids they need that extra push. I have your book Teaching From the Heart, and our next class novel will be Tears of a Tiger. Thank you again because you have impacted all our lives in a wonderful way. Sharon, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for speaking so eloquently at the Promising Practices conference in San Diego last week. I was very impressed with you and your books and look forward to buying class sets of your work so that my entire class can have that pleasure also. I teach a three-hour ninth grade English class every day to students whose scores reflect that they read at grade level 5 or below. I have been introducing them to reading and they LOVE it. However, I must keep giving them new books to excite and enhance their reading. I was so excited to hear parts of your books. I think they will be the perfect partner for other things I had planned for this year. Thanks again. Dear Sharon, I sat at my desk until 7 pm on Friday night reading Tears of a Tiger. . .and wept as I read the final few pages out loud to myself. Just thought I'd let you know how moved I was. My students loved Forged. . . and will begin Tears. . .next week. Thanks for great work! We are all inspired by you. I was absolutely delighted hearing you speak at EKU. I was on the edge of my seat the whole night. Anyhow, I wanted to tell you how your words have really helped out in a difficult student teaching placement. I am in my last student teaching placement and its a departmentalized 4/5 Language Arts class. I have throughout the day, 108 students and a teacher who is a little set in her ways and does not want to give up her limelight. I was having difficulty adjusting and I remembered what you said about being able to teach was first making connections with your students. I figured that despite getting a degree, my first priority was to those students. I made the connections with quite a few of them and I instantly started feeling more at home. I have learned that with out those connections, I would not make it through. Without the students who show me how much they need me and how important it is that I be there, I would simply pack up, go home and give the degree back. I would probably tell this teacher I am working under exactly how I feel. Anyway, thanks for coming to speak at Eastern and I am sincerely looking forward to reading more of your work!!! HI Mrs. Draper... I am sure that you get emails like this one all the time, so I hestitate to be repetative. However, I would simply like to tell you that your books have turned some of my kids' attitudes toward reading around. This is the third year in a row that I have taught Forged By Fire, and I look forward to this time of every year. I always teach the novel at the beginning because it enables me to really hook some of my kids into this whole reading thing. Thank you for that. We can't wait for the new one to come out. On that note, sadly, I am having a hard time finding other such books that excite my kids like yours do. Do you have any suggestions for eighth graders? I just finished reading your book about teaching and I truly did feel renewed. I honor your work and hope that one day I will be as accomplished as you are. Thank you again. Your books have made reading much more interesting to my 12 year old son. I enjoyed Forge by Fire so much that I am ordering Tears of a Tiger, Romeo & Juliet, Darkness before Dawn and Forge by Fire in the hardback version for my son and myself this Christmas. I just wanted to that you and wish you God's speed. Sharon, You talked with my district a few months ago. I just finished your book "Teaching from the Heart" - you understand about time - time for "free" reading. I have had "my own kids" for five years but my parents are teachers so you could say I have had a very large extended family for all of my 27 years. After reading your book I justed wanted to say Thank you. I love teaching - I love all my kids but sometimes life can get you down - older teachers, without realizing it, can cause doubt. Your book was a great help. Once again, Thank You. I update this page from time to time. If you would like to have your letter posted, please click here.