Beverly Hennen Van Hook
Author profile
born
February 02, 1941
in Huntington, West Virginia, The United States
died
August 13, 2008
gender
female
genre
About this author
Born Feb. 2, 1941, in Huntington, West Virginia, Beverly was always an avid reader, and decided to become a writer after reading Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" at the age of 10. Graduating from Ohio University in 1962 cum laude with honors in history and a degree in journalism, she began her business and writing career in Dayton, Ohio, where she met her husband, Don, who had graduated from Ohio University two years earlier and had worked in the same dormitory cafeteria. They were married Oct. 26, 1963.
In early 1964, the young couple moved to Burlington, Vt., where Beverly was a city reporter for the Burlington Free Press and Don worked for a local advertising agency. Deere & Company, the international agricultural equipment company,...more
Born Feb. 2, 1941, in Huntington, West Virginia, Beverly was always an avid reader, and decided to become a writer after reading Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" at the age of 10. Graduating from Ohio University in 1962 cum laude with honors in history and a degree in journalism, she began her business and writing career in Dayton, Ohio, where she met her husband, Don, who had graduated from Ohio University two years earlier and had worked in the same dormitory cafeteria. They were married Oct. 26, 1963.
In early 1964, the young couple moved to Burlington, Vt., where Beverly was a city reporter for the Burlington Free Press and Don worked for a local advertising agency. Deere & Company, the international agricultural equipment company, then offered Don a position in their in-house advertising operation, based in Moline, part of the Iowa-Illinois Quad-Cities. Beverly quickly became editor of a monthly publication for Augustana College in nearby Rock Island.
While her children were young, Beverly worked as a successful freelance writer, publishing articles in national publications including Reader's Digest and Family Circle. When Deere & Co transferred the family to Germany for nearly four years in the mid-70s, she continued freelancing, publishing a very successful series on what it was like for an American family to experience German culture and send their children to German schools. Once back in the Quad-Cities, she wrote award-winning feature articles for the Quad-City Times newspaper, co-hosted her own radio talk show, and had a special television segment on the local ABC-affiliate evening news reviewing books.
In 1985, she wrote and published her first book in the Supergranny mystery series, about a gray-haired detective who drives a red Ferrari and solved mysteries with the help of three neighborhood children, an Old English sheepdog, and a gumdrop-eating robot. There are seven books in this popular, award-winning children's series.
The success of the Supergranny books led to high demand for Beverly as a speaker at schools and libraries. Over a 15-year period, she spoke to more than a half million children between the ages of 8 and 12. The books still are used in schools across the Midwest, and the series has been optioned three times by Hollywood production companies for the movies.
Beverly also wrote and published two mysteries for adults featuring a middle-aged couple as detectives, Liza and Dutch Randolph. She published her last book, a memoir called "Boss Supergranny," in 2007. In all, Beverly wrote and published 11 books.(less)
Sign in with Facebook
