Valerie Woebkenberg – Historical Adventures for Young Readers

Adventure without leaving your backyard is often how I describe my books for young readers. I write to create exciting, interesting, and adventurous stories for children, stories that I hope will spark the imagination of the reader. My writing career has been an unexpected, but exciting “next chapter” in my life. I enjoyed a full-time career as an elementary teacher helping young students to love reading and learning. I want to encourage young readers to see events in history as more than names and dates, and what better guide for young readers than a cat named Miles Standish.

Miles, a fluffy tuxedo cat, joined our family one November around the same time as the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth almost 400 years earlier. We named him Miles Standish in honor of Myles Standish who traveled with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower in 1620. Miles likes to explore our backyard and engages in what we call a friendly game of tag with the visiting chipmunks and squirrels. My family and I imagined Miles thinking of himself on a grand adventure, so we took him on one!

Miles on the Mayflower was a collaborative effort with my son Michael, an avid hiker and camper. In this first book in the Miles Across America series, Miles hiked to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to find his family and ended up finding so much more. Once aboard the Mayflower II, helearned about the faith and courage of the men, women, and children who sailed across the ocean in 1620. In Miles and the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, the second book in the series, Miles hiked the Freedom Trail and met actors who talked about life in the colonies and what to do about the ships in the harbor. I thought readers would enjoy learning about the famous tea party, which wasn’t a party at all. It is an honor to have this book bear the registered trademark symbol of the Freedom Trail Foundation.

I am currently researching several other historical events in search of a story for Miles to tell. Miles is ready to fly along with Orville and Wilbur in a story that includes bicycles, gliders, planes, and maybe a trip to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Continuing with the aviation theme, I’m researching the Apollo missions, particularly the astronauts who walked on the moon in the later Apollo missions. Miles won’t be blasting off to the moon, but he has his sights on driving a lunar rover here on earth at the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. or at space camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

Traveling and research has taken me to new places and deepened my appreciation for many of the people who were courageous in their endeavors. However, one of the best perks of being a writer is sharing my stories with readers through classroom and school presentations. Children are both interested and enthusiastic about historical events as well as the process of research, writing. illustrating, and publishing. And, of course, they always want to know what Miles is doing and where he will be heading next. Miles will be logging lots of miles if he heads to all of the places they have suggested.

Valerie Woebkenberg

Orange Frazer Press