About The Author
Roberta C. Stone is a retired History teacher with a Master’s in Education as well as a journalist for The New York Times, Connecticut Magazine, and The Connecticut Post.
Roberta is the mother of three daughters and grandmother of six.
Bio
I grew up in New York State- born in NYC and lived in New Rochelle until I graduated high school. I attended the State University of New York at New Paltz, where I earned my Bachelor’s teaching degree. I got my first teaching job in Bridgeport. CT, and that is where I settled after college, eventually getting married and raising my three daughters in Fairfield, CT. Later, I taught seventh and eighth grades in Weston, Ct.
My favorite pastime as a child was reading. The Anthology of Literature- a tattered book I found on a shelf in the house, became my treasured tome. That book had everything- Greek myths, poetry and short stories that I devoured day after day. I remember loving the stories of Odysseus and his adventures in rescuing Helen of Troy. They were full of unbelievable escapades of bravery, gods and goddesses, heroes and villains. I was astounded by the imagination of Homer and I clung to every word. I memorized poetry like, The Moon’s the Northwind’s Cookie; that and Mr. Nobody were my favorites, and when I was ten, I memorized the Gettysburg Address, written by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. I marched around my room to the patriotic songs of John Phillip Souza. To say the least, I was an unusual child enmeshed in my own world.
Roberta with her young family
I loved to sing, and did so often and always. The poetry in music has been the soundtrack of my life since I was four years old. It still is. Elvis, The Beatles, James Taylor, Motown- and now current icons like Taylor Swift are some of my favorites. Yes, I am a fan.
As a teacher of history, I brought all these elements into my classroom- the poetry, the music, the adventure, the mystery of history. I loved to bring in books I read into my classroom to color the lessons of history. MY classroom became my stage and the kids enjoyed the show (most of the time).
I have woven many threads into my life. I became a journalist(without the degree) and wrote for various publications, including the New York Times (I’m extremely proud of that one) Connecticut Magazine and several others. MY stories gravitate toward unusual people doing unique things with their lives. I am addicted to adventure and risk and I love to write about it.
Writing, of course, has been part of my life- whether it was the poems I wrote in college-“Silent sentinels of the forest, trees are-“ or the stories I later wrote for newsletters, newspapers and magazines.
Of course, I read to our children at bedtime, and now they read to their children, and I read to our grandchildren.
So, after I retired, I decided that the stories that had brewing in my mind for decades, thanks to my children’s curiosity and personalities, had to finally be told. They were snippets of memory given to me by my children that I kept in a box in my head. Erica, my oldest daughter, wore glasses and hated wearing them and that is how my first book, I HAVE FOUR EYES, came about. So, the inquiries from my children became my first stories to tell. This is how and why I became a children’s book author. Now I write not only for my children, but for my six grandchildren and for story lovers everywhere.
Roberta’s grandchildren
