The first time Candice Ransom picked up a pencil, she drew a witch wearing a ball gown, a beehive, and a diamond necklace spraying rays of brilliance. She sketched this masterpiece inside her older sister's Word Mastery Speller, a 1949 textbook which asked students to use "bury" and "occupy" in the same sentence.

No one could guess that five-year-old would one day try to master words as her life's work. Candice kept this talent well hidden while she tried to master other things, such as tying shoes, cutting her own meat, and staying out of the way of her sister who had to buy the spelling book after Candice ruined it.

She learned to tell stories by listening to her mother talk about the "olden days" on the homeplace in the Shenandoah Valley and her sister's original excuses for cutting school ("I broke my arm playing basketball"). After she learned to read, Candice read the print off books she checked out of the library. In second grade, she began writing stories that featured witches living in old houses haunted by annoying ghosts.

Despite her sister's plans to get rid of her, Candice grew up to write books for children. She has published over 100 books (none with witches) for all ages, from board books to young adult. Her books have received many honors, including the National Council of Social Studies, IRA Children's Choice, IRA Teacher's Choice, New York Public Library Best 100 Books, Smithsonian Notable, and several state reading lists.

Candice has given hundreds of presentations to schools, libraries, conferences, and literary festivals. At the age of 50, she went to school to earn back-to-back degrees: an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and an MA in Children's Literature from Hollins University. She currently teaches in the MA/MFA Children’s Literature program at Hollins University.

She lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with her husband and three cats. One of the cats, Winchester, has his own blog with a 54-year-old stuffed elephant named Ellsworth. It should be noted that Candice Ransom has little control at home—the cats pretty much run the place.

Time Spies Series
Mirrorstone Books
illustrated by Greg Call
ages 7 to 10

Visit timespies.com for a reading guide, cipher fun, and more!
A podcast is available for this series.

Secret in the Tower
2006, ISBN 978-0-7869-4027-1

Mattie, Alex, and Sophie Chapman are sure that living in a bed and breakfast in the country will be boring. But then they discover a hidden room, a mysterious postcard, and a magical spyglass and suddenly life will never be boring again!

Bones in the Badlands
2006, ISBN 978-0-7869-4028-8

The Chapman kids zoom back to 1898 where dinosaur cowboy Walter Granger has discovered a secret cache of dinosaur skeletons. The kids are caught in the Bone Wars!

Giant in the Garden
2006, ISBN 978-0-7869-4074-5

When an enormous beanstalk sprouts in their garden, the Chapman kids climb into the clouds to face the giant straight out of the pages of Sophie’s fairy tale book.

Magician in the Trunk
2007, ISBN 978-0-7869-4070-7

At the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, the Chapman kids stumble onto a magical mystery involving young Harry Houdini and a stolen treasure.

Signals in the Sky
2007, ISBN 978-0-7869-4353-1

Whisked back to 1863 Virginia, the Chapman kids join forces with a Civil War spy to send secret messages before the big battle.

Rider in the Night
2007, ISBN 978-0-7869-4354-8

The Time Spies kids find themselves in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” tracking the Headless Horseman.

Horses in the Wind
2007, ISBN 978-0-7869-4355-5

The Chapman kids get caught up in the horse race of the century, between the magnificent War Admiral and a little brown horse named Seabiscuit.

Gold in the Hills
2008, ISBN 978-0-7869-4776-8

The Time Spies kids catch gold fever when they slide back in time to the Klondike Gold Rush with Jack London.

Message in the Mountain
2008, ISBN 978-0-7869-4841-3

Whirled back to 1934, the Chapman kids become involved with America’s greatest engineering marvel, Mount Rushmore.

Flames in the City
2008, ISBN 978-0786949731

Maggie L. Walker:
Pioneering Banker and Community Leader
2009, ISBN 978-0-8225-6611-3

Born right after the Civil War, Maggie L. Walker dreamed big dreams and worked hard to achieve them. As the first female bank president in the United States, Maggie encouraged all African Americans to save their money and helped many start their own businesses. In all her endeavors, Maggie Walker aimed to expose injustices against African Americans and women.

Maria von Trapp: Beyond the Sound of Music
2002, ISBN 978-1-5750-5444-2

Known to millions of movie-goers as the heroine of The Sound of Music, Maria von Trapp was a real person who met every challenge with creativity, energy and lots of determination. Her life with the Von Trapp family and her adventures in the United States make an inspiring story that reached beyond the movie.

Trailblazer Biographies series
Twenty-First Century Books
grades 5 through 9

Seeing Sky-Blue Pink
Carolrhoda, 2007
ages 8 to 11, ISBN 978-0-8225-7142-1

Maddie and her mother used to have Perfect Days in town. Now Maddie has a new stepfather and a house in the country. It’s a lot of change for a shy eight-year-old. Her stepfather Sam has a cat that can predict the weather. Sam can build tree houses and even believes in a color called sky-blue pink. Will Maddie ever have a Perfect Day again?

Tractor Day
illustrated by Laura J. Bryant
Walker, 2007
ages 3 to 5, ISBN 978-0-8027-8090-4

Climb aboard the big red tractor. It’s time to get ready for spring. Raking, plowing, and planting the fields is hard, but doing it together makes everything more fun. Ride along and join the fun!

Finding Day’s Bottom
Carolrhoda, 2006
ages 9 to 14, ISBN 978-1-57505-933-4

Jane-Ery’s heart is torn in two when her daddy dies in a sawmill accident. Now Grandpap’s come down from Salter’s Mountain to help. Jane-Ery’s not much interested. But when he tells her about Day’s Bottom, “a place of light and wonderment,” she can’t help but listen. In Day’s Bottom, Grandpap says, a girl can find anything she wants...

In warm, lyrical prose, award-winning author Candice Ransom spins an enchanting tale of loss and healing.

Sam Collier and the Founding of Jamestown
illustrated by Matthew Archambault
2006, ISBN 978-0-8225-6451-5

Twelve-year-old Sam Collier was eager for adventure. He came from England to be a settler in the new land of Virginia. But his life in the New World proved to be a harsh test. The settlers face sickness, starvation, and sudden attack. Could Sam and his fellow settlers trust the native people of Virginia to help them? Could he survive in this strange new land?

Willie McLean and the Civil War Surrender
illustrated by Jeni Reeves
2005, ISBN 978-1-5750-5588-6

When Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses Grant, no one notices an eleven-year-old boy witnessing the historic event that took place in his own house in Appomattox, Virginia.

Rescue on the Outer Banks
illustrated by Karen Ritz
2002, ISBN 0876144601

Ten-year-old Sam Deal dreams of becoming a surfman someday. On October 11, 1896, he finds a way to brave a storm to help save nine people stranded on a shipwreck. This easy reader tells the dramatic story of the first black sea rescue team in North Carolina in 1896. Watercolor illustrations.

Danger at Sand Cave
illustrated by Den Schofield
2000, ISBN 978-1-5750-5379-0

Floyd Collins received more publicity in the final week before his death in February 1925 than all his 37 years in Kentucky as a caver. He had crawled into a narrow cavern when the cave collapsed on his legs. Ten-year-old Arly Dunbar assists in the rescue mission and is among those stunned to learn they reached Floyd Collins too late.

On My Own History series
Millbrook Press/First Avenue Editions
grades 2 through 4

I Like Shoes
illustrated by David LaFleur
Scholastic, 2005
ages 5 to 7, ISBN 978-0-516-24858-5

“Shoes with bows, shoes with straps. Shoes that go tap, tap, tap.” Fancy shoes, plain shoes, play shoes and work shoes—all take you places!

Robert E. Lee
2005, ISBN 978-0-8225-2437-3

Daniel Boone
2005, ISBN 978-0-8225-2941-5

John Hancock
2005, ISBN 978-0-8225-1547-0

Clara Barton
2003, ISBN 978-0-8225-4677-1

Lewis and Clark
2003, ISBN 978-0-8225-0394-1

George Washington
2002, ISBN 978-0-8225-0374-3

History Maker Biography series
Lerner Publications
grades 3 through 6

Explore the lives of famous figures found in the core of every history curriculum. Each completely nonfiction book is illustrated with historical photographs and illustrations. Sidebars, a timeline, and entertaining cartoon illustrations further illuminate each subject’s personality.

Key to the Griffon’s Lair
Mirrorstone Books, 2005
ages 8 to 12, ISBN 978-0-7869-3827-8

At midnight, an army of ghosts will attack Curston. The city has only one hope: the Knights of the Silver Dragon, knights both living and dead. Can Moyra, Kellach, and Driscoll locate the hidden crypt, where knights sleep for eternity, before the ghostly battle begins?

Big Rigs
Lerner Publications, 2005
ages 5 to 7, ISBN 978-0-8225-1537-1

Camiones Grandes
ISBN 978-0-8225-6647-8

Big trucks are ready to roll! A day in the life of tractor-trailer trucks.

Liberty Street
illustrated by Eric Velasquez
Walker, 2003
ages 6 to 9, ISBN 978-0-8027-8869-6

They must work all week except on Sunday afternoons. Glorious Sundays, when slaves throughout Fredericksburg walk along the dirt path they call Liberty Street. Soon Sundays take on an even deeper meaning when Kezia joins a secret school to learn to read. Meanwhile, Mama works frantically to earn extra money to buy Kezia’s freedom before she is bonded to another family far away. She must risk everything to give her daughter a chance to feel like Liberty Street every day of the week.

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