She was born Willo Davis in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Davis. In 1949, a few years after graduating from high school, she married David W. Roberts and lived in Washington with him who is a photographer and also a writer.
At first, she focused on books for adults, writing mysteries and stories about nurses. Her first novel, Murder at Grand Bay, was published in 1955.
More books followed and by 1970, when she released seven books, she was producing fiction at a prolific rate. In 1975, at the suggestion of her editor and her agent, Roberts rewrote one of her mysteries for a younger audience. It was released as The View from the Cherry Tree to great success.
Publishing ninety-nine books during her lifetime (she was working on rewrites for her hundredth when she passed away), her notable works are Don't Hurt Laurie!; The Girl with the Silver Eyes, which won a Mark Twain award; Eddie and the Fairy Godpuppy; Baby Sitting Is a Dangerous Job, which was another Mark Twain award-winner; Sugar Isn't Everything: A Support Book, in Fiction Form, for the Young Diabetic; and three Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning novels: Megan's Island, The Absolutely True Story of My Visit to Yellowstone with the Terrible Rupes, and Twisted Summer.
She and her husband have four adult sons and daughters and twelve grandchildren whose activities have often contributed to her ideas for stories. The award-winning author has also traveled extensively in the United States. Roberts died of congestive heart failure last November 19, 2004 in Granite Falls, Washington at the age of 76.
According to publisher Simon & Schuster, "The One Left Behind would have been her hundredth book for children." Come check out her books at the GS-LRC today! If you want your favorite author or book to be featured next month, don't forget to tell any of the staff or librarians around.
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