SOURCE CITATION
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
Photograph provided by Random House.
"Sidelights"
Ron Roy told CA: "When I was ten my family moved to a quiet street in East Hartford, Connecticut. I knew no one in the neighborhood. There was a library on the corner, and one day I wandered in. I never really wandered out again. Since that summer in 1950 I have been a reader. Reading is perhaps the biggest influence in my writing children's books. It is also my chief hobby.
"I like kids a lot. I write for them, to them, about them. I remember how important books were to me when I was in school, and one of the reasons I write is to try to bring to kids some of the joy I took out of books.
"I try to fill my life with the things and people I like. My family consists of a parakeet named Buddy and a black kitten named Updike. I'm in the process of adopting a son. If this works out, I'll adopt him a brother or sister later. My dream is to have a big family and lots of pets. I really love ducks, so I think I'll buy a farm one day and raise them.
"My favorite things are kids, animals, sunshine, laughter, peace, good books, and music. My favorite writers are Dickens, John Updike, E. B. White, Judy Blume--and Ron Roy."
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Family: Born April 29, 1940, in Connecticut; son of Leo Joseph (a carpenter) and Marie (Ouellette) Roy. Education: University of Connecticut, B.A., 1965; University of Hartford, M.Ed., 1974. Avocational Interests: "Next to reading, I like cooking best. I'm a vegetarian and between paragraphs I make soup, bread, yogurt, and just mess around in the kitchen. When I'm not reading or cooking, I run, visit schools, travel, and play with my friends." Military/Wartime Service: U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman, 1958-60. Memberships: Society of Children's Book Writers, Authors Guild. Addresses: Home: New York, NY. Agent: Carol Mann Literary Agency, 168 Pacific St., Brooklyn, NY 11201.
CAREER
West Hill School, Rocky Hill, CT, teacher, 1975-79. Instructor at Institute of Children's Literature, 1976.
