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Elvira Woodruff

Author profile

born

June 19, 1951 in Somerville, New Jersey, The United States

gender

female

website

http://ewoodruff.com/

genre

Children's Books

About this author

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Well-known for her popular children’s stories, author Elvira Woodruff had a long route to becoming a writer. In fact, one of her first jobs after leaving college was driving an ice cream truck. She has also worked as a receptionist, a janitor, a window dresser, a gardener, a shop owner, an assistant librarian, a waitress, and a storyteller. After working for several years in the children’s room of a library, Woodruff began writing professionally at the age of 35, and hasn’t stopped since.

Elvira Woodruff has always had a great imagination. She recalls, “my father was a truck driver and I would love to sit in his truck and imagine all the places he’d been. I’d sit behind the wheel, my head barely reaching the steering wheel and pretend that I...more Well-known for her popular children’s stories, author Elvira Woodruff had a long route to becoming a writer. In fact, one of her first jobs after leaving college was driving an ice cream truck. She has also worked as a receptionist, a janitor, a window dresser, a gardener, a shop owner, an assistant librarian, a waitress, and a storyteller. After working for several years in the children’s room of a library, Woodruff began writing professionally at the age of 35, and hasn’t stopped since.

Elvira Woodruff has always had a great imagination. She recalls, “my father was a truck driver and I would love to sit in his truck and imagine all the places he’d been. I’d sit behind the wheel, my head barely reaching the steering wheel and pretend that I was on the open road, off on some grand adventure to faraway places like Long Island, or Jersey City.”

Today, Woodruff believes that “what you have to do as a writer is to feel, look, and listen. Your stories then become a celebration of those observations. And, most important, a writer needs to fall in love. I’m constantly falling in love—with colors, with flowers, with wings, with bubbles, with mud, with goofy baby smiles. . . . When you’re writing under the influence of love, there’s a power that will weave your words into magic.”

Born and raised in New Jersey, Elvira Woodruff has also lived in Boston, Massachusetts. She has two sons, Noah and Jess. When she isn’t writing, Woodruff likes gardening—especially with blue flowers—and enjoys traveling. “[One] year I fell in love with Leonardo daVinci and flew to Italy where I rented a car and traced his footsteps from Vinci to Florence and Milan.” She also spends a lot of her time visiting schools and libraries, sharing her ideas about writing with children.

Elvira Woodruff’s book, Dear Napoleon, I Know You’re Dead, But . . ., is a clever and funny story about a boy who writes a letter to Napoleon Bonaparte for a class project, and receives a surprising reply. It has been included in numerous child-voted state award programs, including the Mark Twain Book Award program (Missouri), the Sequoyah Children’s Book Award program (Oklahoma), and the West Virginia Children’s Book Award program.
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Books by Elvira Woodruff

Average rating: 3.77 · 1,616 ratings · 319 reviews · 28 distinct works

	The Ravenmaster's Secret: Escape From The Tower Of London 3.75 avg rating — 531 ratings — published 2003 — 11 editions	My rating:
	George Washington's Socks 3.66 avg rating — 270 ratings — published 1991 — 5 editions	My rating:
	The Christmas Doll by Elvira Woodruff, Bernadette Dunne (Illustrator), Barbara McClintock (Goodreads Author) (Illustrations) 4.09 avg rating — 166 ratings — published 2000 — 7 editions	My rating:
	The Orphan Of Ellis Island 3.64 avg rating — 163 ratings — published 1997 — 7 editions	My rating:
	Fearless 3.82 avg rating — 104 ratings — published 2007 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps by Elvira Woodruff, Joel Iskowitz (Illustrator) 4.04 avg rating — 56 ratings — published 1993 — 4 editions	My rating:
	The Magnificent Mummy Maker 3.64 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 1994 — 10 editions	My rating:
	Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail 3.48 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 1994 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara by Elvira Woodruff, Adam Rex (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator) 4.29 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Dear Napoleon, I Know You're Dead, But... 3.89 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 1994 — 4 editions	My rating:

More books by Elvira Woodruff…

Series by Elvira Woodruff

Time Travel Adventure (2 books)
by Elvira Woodruff

3.65 avg rating — 297 ratings

Dear Levi (3 books)
by Elvira Woodruff

3.67 avg rating — 104 ratings

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Quotes by Elvira Woodruff

“I write for the kid in me. . . . Often when I’m working on a story, I’ll find myself laughing at something my characters have done, or even being surprised at where they’ve taken the story. It’s as if they have a life all their own. What I do is create them and then let them go on to entertain me. . . .”
― Elvira Woodruff

tags: storytelling , writing

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Young Adult Reade...: January-February Challenge	112	172	Feb 28, 2010 09:46pm

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