Lesa Cline-Ransome Papers

Lesa grew up in Malden, MA, a suburb just outside of Boston. She was the daughter of two nurses and the youngest of three children. Her mother, an avid reader, would take her to the library every week and books and writing became a way of life for Lesa. In middle school she thought she wanted to be a journalist, but realized later that it wasn’t for her. She attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and her professors there encouraged her in her writing. She also wrote for the college paper. After graduation Lesa began working in the advertising department of Lord & Taylor.

Lesa became interested in children’s books the year I she got married. Her husband, illustrator James Ransome, was working on illustrating his first book which allowed both of them to look at picture books in a new way. This led Lesa to complete a graduate degree in elementary education and through her coursework become truly immersed in children’s literature.

When Lesa was home after the birth of her first child, her husband would constantly suggest that she start writing for children. She eventually found a collection of stories about champion athletes. When she read the section on Satchel Paige, the Negro League pitcher, she was hooked. She researched and wrote for nearly a year before Simon & Schuster published the story.

Lesa lives in Rhinebeck New York with her husband James Ransome, an artist and illustrator of children’s books. They have collaborated on a number of books together including Satchel Paige, Young Pele, Quilt Alphabet, Before There Was Mozart, Light in the Darkness and Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass. They live in the Hudson Valley with their four children and one St. Bernard.

Biographical material taken from the author's website: http://www.lesaclineransome.com/bio.html.