Shutta Crum

It's always difficult to introduce myself, and "What do you do?" is a hard question to answer. I do so many things! I'm a children's author and a poet. But I'm also a lecturer, a teacher, a mother, a grandmother, a retired librarian, an educator, a Kentuckian and a Michigander, as well as someone who is intoxicated by color and 3-d doodling. (I make quilts, do mosaics, and glue together strange things I find, when I'm not writing.)

Where to start? I think the beginning is best, for storytelling was in my family's blood long before I was born. So . . . I was born in Kentucky. And it was fortunate for me that I happened to be born in the mountains where telling "whoppers" and listening to tall tales long into the night is part of the Appalachian heritage. In those dark and scrawny hollers (narrow valleys) I'd cling to my father's tall legs and stare wide-eyed as I listened to the hair-raising tales my relatives told. We are all big talkers in our family. "Yeaaah, buddy!" (This phrase is Kentuckian for "That's the truth!" To say it right, ya gotta drag out that "a" in the first word.) So don't ya doubt it, Kentucky has rightfully claimed a huge hunk of my heart.

Ours was an oral tradition, not bookish. Books were scarce in our home, and therefore highly prized. The tiny library in the elementary school by our house became a second home. That was after my father moved to Michigan to work in the auto factories. Therefore, Michigan gets to lay claim to a piece of my heart as well--for it was there that I went to school, learned to read, played "school" and "library" and then grew up to become a teacher and then a librarian.

As a teacher: I taught high school English in Michigan and creative writing at the community college level. (I still do workshops for writers around the country.) While at the community college, I was also an assistant editor for a nationally distributed literary arts journal.

As a librarian: I spent my first two years as a librarian being a library director in a small town in Michigan. Then I moved to a much larger library and spent almost 24 years as a youth librarian and a storyteller. I've done storytimes in a number of interesting places including hospitals, Safehouse (the local home for abused women and children), at schools for kids with special needs, at classes for the profoundly deaf, for senior citizens, and on the Bookmobile. Just before retirement, I was the sole children's book selector for a large and very busy library system in a cosmopolitan and diverse community. In 2002 I was awarded the Michigan Library Association's Award of Merit as youth Librarian of the year. It was a blast! What a great time I had being a librarian--I LOVED it!

As a writer: I write at several levels for children; picture books, chapter books and teen novels. A number of my books have won awards, been nominated for state awards or lists, or have appeared on other prestigious lists. I also write articles about writing and teaching for professional journals. And my poems for adults appear in various print and online journals. In 2005, I was invited to read at the White House Easter Egg Roll. (It rained, so we couldn't read outdoors as planned. But I had a lovely breakfast in the White House!) Another favorite thing that happened to me as a writer was that I was invited in 2010 to tour Japan and speak to kids at American military base schools--for a whole month! What fun. "You never know the places you'll go."

I love writing and wrote my first poems and stories in elementary school. I remember a little of the first poem I wanted to share with the world. It was about someone coming down the stairs to find something horrible at the bottom. My first important poem was scary! And so was my first book, WHO TOOK MY HAIRY TOE?

I didn't buckle down and work on books for children until the fall of 1997. I sold my first manuscript by early December of 1999. Then five more of my picture book manuscripts sold in a little over a year! In the fall of 2001, I had an offer on my first children's novel. I was on my way.

I am sure that would not have happened without the deep love I had for my other career, that of being a children's librarian. (See above.) Getting to read and share so many wonderful books in the Ann Arbor District Library where I worked has been an important part of my life. I wanted children to find my books on library shelves, too, one day. And now, they can!

Before I forget, I need to mention my name. Shutta is my real first name and Crum is my real last (maiden) name. My husband has a boring last name, so I kept Crum--what else would go with Shutta?

Shutta is not derived from any language other than the language of childhood. Shuddy was my father's nickname. I had a cousin who could not say Melvin and always called my dad Shuddy. It stuck. Since I was the first grandchild on my mother's side there was a lot of arguing about what to name me. My dad finally put an end to the arguments by saying--"Maybe I'll just call her Shuddy!" To get a more female-sounding name, Mom, the doctor, and Dad put their heads together and came up with Shutta.

To be honest, I was not thrilled with it when I was young. All my friends were named Debbie, or Linda, or Carol, or Patty, etc.--all nice, sturdy names. I wanted to be a Penny or a Sandy. Instead, I was stuck with Shutta.

As I grew older, however, I came to treasure my name. Now I see it as the best gift I ever got. It's a good name for an author--just unusual enough. Ya know, when I think about it . . . I realize that not only was I blessed with such a fun name, but I was born and raised in two wonderful places full of great people and thrilling stories that have fueled my creativity and kept me full of joy. There's only one way to sum it all up: "Yeaaah, buddy!"

I hope you enjoy my books!

Shutta Crum