Name Mel Boring Role Author | ||
Occupation American children's author; educator Spouse Carol Lynne Trettin (m. 1975) Children Jeremy Davies, Josh Boring, Zachary Boring, Katy Boring Parents Harold Truman, Helen Irene Boring Books Caterpillars - bugs - and butterflies, Fun with nature, Birds - Nests and Eggs, More Fun with Nature: T, Flamingos - loons - and pelicans | ||
Melvin Lyle "Mel" Boring (born September 12, 1939) is an American children's author specializing in non-fiction. A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Boring has produced works such as Incredible Constructions and the People Who Built Them; Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies; and Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine (coauthored with Leslie Dendy). Boring also travels the world to speak to students about book writing and publishing while he wears a Cat-in-the-Hat costume.
Contents
Biography
Melvin Lyle Boring was born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan to Harold Truman (an electrician) and Helen Irene (née Hatfield) Boring. Boring earned his B.A. from Sterling College, Kansas, in 1961, and attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where he received his Master of Divinity (M. Div.) in 1965. He began as an educator, which sparked his interest in writing books for children. He claims he had difficulty learning to read in early childhood, although he loved to hear books read to him. Those books, especially Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, served as inspiration for his career in writing.
Family
He married his second wife, Carol Lynne Trettin, a registered nurse, on June 21, 1975; the couple has two children: Zachery and Katrina. He has two sons from his first marriage, Joshua and Jeremy.
Career
Boring has published 12 books and over 25 stories in such magazines as Highlights for Children and Cricket. Boring's first 12 fiction submissions to children's magazines received a total of 143 rejections with only one acceptance. He spent 18 years as an Institute of Children's Literature instructor, teaching hundreds of his students how to write for children.