June Rae Wood

Infobox Writer

name = June Rae Wood


caption =
birthdate = 1946

birthplace = Versailles, Missouri, United States
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Novelist
genre = Realistic Fiction
movement =
notableworks ="The Man Who Loved Clowns", "Turtle on a Fence Post", "When Pigs Fly", "About Face", "On Her Way: Stories and Poems About Growing Up Girl", and "A Share of Freedom".
influences =
influenced =
website = http://mowrites4kids.drury.edu/authors/wood/

June Rae Wood is an American author. One of her books, "The Man Who Loved Clowns", won the Mark Twain Award and William Allen White Award in 1995.

Early Life

June Rae Wood grew up in Versailles, Missouri, with 7 siblings: 4 brothers and 3 sisters. Her brother, Richard, who had Down's Syndrome was her model for The Man Who Loved Clowns. June's other brothers and sisters had to protect Richard from other people who would be mean to him. Many people would laugh and stare, but Richard thought this was a compliment.

Richard

Her brother loved Elvis Presley so much, just like the character Punky in The Man Who Loved Clowns. Richard had a red cowboy hat which he loved so much. The only things he would watch on television were commercials and cartoons. He would often take the paper off of crayons and roll them across a sheet of paper-but he never used the tips. Later in his life, he went to work at a sheltered workshop. He had a great time and made actual friends until he was 35 years old. Richard died at age 35 after years of love and caring family members.

References

*cite news|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27209260_ITM|title=Turtle On A Fence Post. (Fiction Reprints).(book)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Review)|date=3 Dec 2001|work=Publishers Weekly|accessdate=2008-08-25*
*June Rae Wood 1: http://mowrites4kids.drury.edu/authors/wood/
* [http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000040300,00.html Penguin biography]