Patricia Relf is an author of books for children and adults. Raised in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, she received an A.B. in English from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and an M.A. in medieval studies from

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

. She has worked in publishing, at

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

Books for Young Readers and

Sesame Street Magazine ''Sesame Street Magazine'' is an American monthly magazine based on the long-running children's television series ''Sesame Street''. The magazine features characters from the television series, and emphasizes ''Sesame Street''s educational goals ...

, and since 1979 has been a freelance writer of books, educational materials, and computer software. She was a Latin instructor at Western Michigan University. She now lives in the Cleveland area. In 2017 she published her first book for adults, with co-author D. A. Dirks, ''To Offer Compassion: A History of the

Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion The Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion (CCS) was a group of American clergy that counseled and referred people to licensed doctors for safe abortions before the Supreme Court's decision in ''Roe v. Wade'' made abortion legal nationwide. Started ...

''. The group of U.S. religious leaders referred women for safe abortions in the days before

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

. Some of her works for children are: * ''Tonka Trucks Night and Day'', illus. Tom LaPadula (New York: Scholastic, 2004) * ''What's Happening?: A Book of Explanations'', illus. Francis H. Schwartz (New York: Mondo Publishing, 2001) * ''A Dinosaur Named Sue: The Story of the Colossal Fossil'' (New York: Scholastic, 2000) * ''Tonka Look Inside Trucks'', illus. Tom LaPadula (New York: Scholastic, 1999) * ''Tonka Big Book of Trucks'', illus. Tom LaPadula (New York: Scholastic, 1996) * ''The Magic School Bus Hops Home'' (1995), ''The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds'' (1995), ''The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten'' (1996), ''The Magic School Bus Wet All Over'' (1996), TV book adaptations, based on ''The Magic School Bus'' book series by Joanna Cole * ''Barnyard Mystery'', with Louise Hanavan, illus. Sally Bhandhugravi (Racine, WI: Western Publishing, 1991) * ''Hurry! Hurry!'', illus. Joel Schick (Racine, WI: Western Publishing, 1991) * ''The Big Golden Book of Boats and Ships'', illus. Tom LaPadula (Racine, WI: Western Publishing, 1991) * ''Muppet Manners, or, The Night Gonzo Gave a Party'', illus. Tom Leigh (Racine, WI: Western Publishing, 1986) * ''Follow the Zookeeper'', illus. Carolyn Bracken (Racine, WI: Western Publishing, 1984) * ''Show and Tell, Featuring Jim Henson's Muppets'', illus. Tom Cooke (New York: Western Publishing, 1983) * ''The Adventures of Superman'', illus. Kurt Schaffenberger, David Hunt (New York: Golden Press, 1982) * ''The First Day of School'', illus. DyAnne Di Salvo (New York: Golden Press, 1981) * ''That New Baby!'', illus. DyAnne DiSalvo (Racine, WI: Western Publishing, 1980)

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Writers from Kalamazoo, Michigan American children's writers Western Michigan University faculty American women children's writers American women academics 21st-century American women {{US-child-writer-stub