Sara Atherlay

Sometimes you find your destiny in the most unexpected ways. I’ve always admired people who knew what they wanted to do, and were able to put all their energy toward that goal. That was my sister, Ricki--she knew from junior high school that she wanted to become a physical therapist, and she was one of the best.

But not me. I was a lost soul for a long time. I knew I was kinda smart, but I had no idea what it was I could offer the world. So I fumbled through Slippery Rock State College University as a theatre major (not the most employable degree!), acquired some secretarial skills, and worked in the glam world of children’s book publishing (my publishing friends will laugh at that), receiving a promotion every year, until I became publicity manager.

When the work had become more about budgets and monthly reports than it was about books and authors and children, I asked-- what do I really want? The most fun in the world that I could imagine was to read stories to children. And maybe even write for them, too.

And so I went for my master’s degree in elementary education, at Hunter College in New York. I had the opportunity to intern at PS 183, where one of my professors, Tanya Kaufman, was also principal. Tanya believed me into becoming a good teacher. When I had my children and worked part-time with small reading groups, I got my reading certificate at Bank Street College. It was also during this time that I published my book, Math in the Bath with Simon & Schuster.