It was 1992 when Eric Pera, a writer for The Ledger, wrote that “Vera Cleaver, author of numerous children’s books, most notably ‘Where the Lilies Bloom’” had died at the age of 73.
Throughout much of her career she co-authored such books as “Dust of the Earth,” “The Kissimmee Kid,” “Queen of Hearts,” and “Grover” with her husband, Bill. He had died in 1981 and Vera has spent the remainder of her years as a recluse.
Cleaver was born in South Dakota but grew up with her eight siblings in Perry, Florida. Her father, an auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad, moved the family there during the Great Depression. She would call Winter Haven home for twenty years after moving here with her husband from North Carolina. Both seldom went out. Following his death a neighbor noted, “she kept to herself and abhorred social gatherings though she had a great love of nature.”
At the time of her death several of her books were on recommended reading lists for schools across the country. Her work brought her respect and awards but Pera noted, “her crowning achievement was ‘Lilies’ which was made into a major motion picture. The story, which depicts the struggle of a family of orphaned children trying to survive in the mountains where Cleaver once lived, is widely acclaimed by critics as a classic work of literature.”
The late Larry Sutton who taught creative writing at Polk Community now Polk State College said of Cleaver, “She was a highly respected writer in the trade industry for young people. She had a voice for the common person, the people in tune with the earth somehow.” Sutton said Cleaver refused to write adult fiction.
Contributor: Anonymous (50556020)
Throughout much of her career she co-authored such books as “Dust of the Earth,” “The Kissimmee Kid,” “Queen of Hearts,” and “Grover” with her husband, Bill. He had died in 1981 and Vera has spent the remainder of her years as a recluse.
Cleaver was born in South Dakota but grew up with her eight siblings in Perry, Florida. Her father, an auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad, moved the family there during the Great Depression. She would call Winter Haven home for twenty years after moving here with her husband from North Carolina. Both seldom went out. Following his death a neighbor noted, “she kept to herself and abhorred social gatherings though she had a great love of nature.”
At the time of her death several of her books were on recommended reading lists for schools across the country. Her work brought her respect and awards but Pera noted, “her crowning achievement was ‘Lilies’ which was made into a major motion picture. The story, which depicts the struggle of a family of orphaned children trying to survive in the mountains where Cleaver once lived, is widely acclaimed by critics as a classic work of literature.”
The late Larry Sutton who taught creative writing at Polk Community now Polk State College said of Cleaver, “She was a highly respected writer in the trade industry for young people. She had a voice for the common person, the people in tune with the earth somehow.” Sutton said Cleaver refused to write adult fiction.
Contributor: Anonymous (50556020)
It was 1992 when Eric Pera, a writer for The Ledger, wrote that “Vera Cleaver, author of numerous children’s books, most notably ‘Where the Lilies Bloom’” had died at the age of 73.
Throughout much of her career she co-authored such books as “Dust of the Earth,” “The Kissimmee Kid,” “Queen of Hearts,” and “Grover” with her husband, Bill. He had died in 1981 and Vera has spent the remainder of her years as a recluse.
Cleaver was born in South Dakota but grew up with her eight siblings in Perry, Florida. Her father, an auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad, moved the family there during the Great Depression. She would call Winter Haven home for twenty years after moving here with her husband from North Carolina. Both seldom went out. Following his death a neighbor noted, “she kept to herself and abhorred social gatherings though she had a great love of nature.”
At the time of her death several of her books were on recommended reading lists for schools across the country. Her work brought her respect and awards but Pera noted, “her crowning achievement was ‘Lilies’ which was made into a major motion picture. The story, which depicts the struggle of a family of orphaned children trying to survive in the mountains where Cleaver once lived, is widely acclaimed by critics as a classic work of literature.”
The late Larry Sutton who taught creative writing at Polk Community now Polk State College said of Cleaver, “She was a highly respected writer in the trade industry for young people. She had a voice for the common person, the people in tune with the earth somehow.” Sutton said Cleaver refused to write adult fiction.
Contributor: Anonymous (50556020)
Throughout much of her career she co-authored such books as “Dust of the Earth,” “The Kissimmee Kid,” “Queen of Hearts,” and “Grover” with her husband, Bill. He had died in 1981 and Vera has spent the remainder of her years as a recluse.
Cleaver was born in South Dakota but grew up with her eight siblings in Perry, Florida. Her father, an auditor for the Union Pacific Railroad, moved the family there during the Great Depression. She would call Winter Haven home for twenty years after moving here with her husband from North Carolina. Both seldom went out. Following his death a neighbor noted, “she kept to herself and abhorred social gatherings though she had a great love of nature.”
At the time of her death several of her books were on recommended reading lists for schools across the country. Her work brought her respect and awards but Pera noted, “her crowning achievement was ‘Lilies’ which was made into a major motion picture. The story, which depicts the struggle of a family of orphaned children trying to survive in the mountains where Cleaver once lived, is widely acclaimed by critics as a classic work of literature.”
The late Larry Sutton who taught creative writing at Polk Community now Polk State College said of Cleaver, “She was a highly respected writer in the trade industry for young people. She had a voice for the common person, the people in tune with the earth somehow.” Sutton said Cleaver refused to write adult fiction.
Contributor: Anonymous (50556020)
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