Author Events Author-In-Schools Contact: Peachtree Publishers Kenyette Kilpatrick kenyette@ 404-876-8761 ext. 111 Professional Development Contact: Heinemann Publishers Angela Dion angela.dion@ 800-541-2086 ext. 1117  Here's Lester in 1960. How old was he then? Do you wonder what he is thinking? Lester grew up in Heflin, Alabama, a small town located about half-way between Birmingham and Atlanta. He is one of three children. His brother, Scott is 2 years older and his sister, Amanda is 10 years younger. The family moved to Zachary, LA where Lester attended part of 1st and all of 2nd grade. Then they returned to Heflin and lived there until Lester was in 5th grade when they moved to Key West, FL. Lester finished school back in Heflin and then earned a BS and MS in Elementary Education from Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL and an EdD in Elementary Education and Reading from Auburn University, Auburn AL. Now Lester lives in Asheville, North Carolina  Hey! That's Lester's 3rd grade photo. What year was that?  Lester (on the left) with siblings, Amanda and Scott. December 1966 when the family was living in Key West, Florida.  Here's Lester in 1971. He was 15 then. How old is he now? |
 Lester L. Laminack at home with his collection of children's books  Lester signing books in Dublin,OH March 2008 A note from Lester: "I want to make my time on this globe meaningful, to give back and pay forward. I believe that when one lives by this rule: IN ALL THINGS BE KIND AND TRUTHFUL, your existence is generally positive, your joys outweigh your sorrows, your pleasures overshadow your pain. I strive to live this way."  Lester working at his desk in 2006 Lester L. Laminack, a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States, is Professor Emeritus with department of Birth-Kindergarten, Elementary and Middle Grades Education, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina where he received two prestigious awards for excellence in teaching (the Botner Superior Teaching Award and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award). Lester is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English and served three years as co-editor of the NCTE journal Primary Voices. He also served as a teaching editor for the magazine Teaching K-8 and wrote the Parent Connection column (2000-2002). He is currently editor of the Children’s Book Review Department of the NCTE journal Language Arts (2003-2006). He is a former member of the Whole Language Umbrella Governing Board, a former member of the Governing Board and Secretary of the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children, and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking. He served as the Basic Reading Consultant to Literacy Volunteers of America from 1987 through 2001. His publications include several academic books such as Learning with Zachary (Scholastic), Spelling in Use (NCTE), Volunteers Working with Young Readers (NCTE), his contributions to The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts(NCTE) and two new books with Heinemann, Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature, Building Bridges Across the Curriculum with Picture Books and Read Alouds. He is also the author of Cracking Open the Author's Craft published by Scholastic. In addition, he has several articles published in journals such as The Reading Teacher, Science and Children, Language Arts, Primary Voices, and Young Children. Lester is also the author of five children’s books: The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor’s Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth, Saturdays and Teacakes and Jake’s 100th Day of School (December 2005) and Snow Day (2007) all of which are published by Peachtree Publishers, Ltd. Ma’am Maw Thompson’s Tea Cakes 2 sticks of Blue Bonnet Margarine 2 cups of Dixie Crystal Sugar 3 eggs {any brand—chickens are independent creatures anyway—but we use large eggs} 3-1/ 3 teaspoons of vanilla flavoring Cream margarine and sugar {you can do this with a potato masher} Add well-beaten eggs, vanilla and flour {you can do this with that same potato masher, then you stir it up with a long wooden spoon}. Next my Ma’am Maw would roll it out with a rolling pin and cut the dough with a tea cup. Well I have not been able to make that work. So you know what? I put two cereal bowls on the counter next to the big mixing bowl. I put sugar in one of those little bowls. I put flour in the other little bowl. Then I take that long wooden spoon and scoop up some tea cake dough {about the size of a golf ball} and drop it in that little bowl of flour. I roll it around in there and lift it out. I roll that around in the palms of my hands to make it round. Then I roll it in the sugar {Mmmmm, more sugar!} and put it on a baking sheet {I use non-stick baking sheets}. This makes about 40 teacakes. So you are supposed to share them with special people. Then comes the hard part. You have to wait----YIKES! Put them in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes {oh yeah, don’t forget to preheat the oven}. Now here’s the tricky part. When you take them out of the oven you are supposed to wait until they cool before you lift them off the baking sheet and eat them. They are hot and they will burn your mouth {trust me I know this is true because I didn’t listen to my Ma’am maw}. I hope you make some Teacakes with someone you love very much. That is when they taste the very best. |
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