Tom Ratliff
Tom teaches Connecticut History and Principles of Education at Central Connecticut State University. He also teaches in the Online Program for the Community Colleges of Connecticut. He is currently writing a book about Connecticut history for middle school-aged students.
Contact Tom.
Order Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Amazon.
Current Projects
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Worker on the Brooklyn Bridge, has just been released by Scholastic Books in the U.S. and by Book House (an imprint of Salariya Book Company) elsewhere.
I am also working on a story about the Flood of 1955, which devastated large parts of Connecticut.
The Drinking Gourd was read last year by a dozen elementary schools in Salina, Kansas. The Salina Journal newspaper sponsored a contest with a $200.00 prize. The winners, Miss Anita Sutton's 3rd grade class at the Soderstrom Elementary School in Lindsborg, Kansas donated the money to the library in Greenburg, Kansas which was destroyed last year by a tornado.
When I was young I had no idea what I wanted to be: at various times I wanted to be a cowboy, a doctor, a famous army general, and an independently wealthy person who was permanently on vacation.
In high school I always wondered in English class how the teachers seemed to know what an author was thinking when he or she wrote something in a certain way. Secretly I believed that you couldn't really tell why someone wrote something unless you could actually ask them. And since many of the authors were long dead I had my doubts that my teachers knew what they were talking about. One reason I wanted to become a writer was to prove my teachers wrong.
I write because I love to pretend—create characters and situations, and have fun seeing how the characters solve the problems that I create for them. I also enjoy sharing my love of history—my goal as a writer and as a teacher is to get everyone to love history the way I do. I have made many converts over the years (including a certain co-author who will remain nameless), and hope to continue this streak for many years to come.
I live in Plainville, Connecticut with my son Christian. I enjoy reading historical fiction and am currently working on a book about my experiences in Vietnam.
From the Midwest Book Review, May, 2004:
"Civil War Soldier: Looks at America’s bloodiest war from the perspective of what it was like to serve from both sides. The book explores everything from enlistment to medical treatments for injuries. This is a delicate subject to approach when writing a book for children and in my opinion Thomas Ratliff has done a superb job of getting the facts across in a serious yet entertaining way that is not threatening. I found it to be an enjoyable read filled with little known facts about the life of a soldier during service."
I recently finished work on a graphic (illustrated) version of The Last of the Mohicans, which is being published by Barrons in the U.S. and Book House (an imprint of Salariya Book Company) elsewhere. The story is being illustrated by the Chinese artist Li Sidong, who has extensive experience in this genre.
My next project is Jack London's White Fang - and I am excited to be working on another American classic with such a strong historical base.
TOMONYMS
I have just completed my next two stories: Artemis: Huntress of the Seas, which is set on a 19th century whaling ship. A second story, Starlight: A Pony Express Story, is a fictionalized account of the Pony Express. I have also just finished working with an illustrator to create images for my story about the Colt Fire in Hartford in 1864.
Drawn by Miranda Norris
My serialized stories are being marketed nationally through the Newspaper Association of America. My latest story, Henry and Bill, is running in the Salina Journal (Kansas) this fall; Artemis: Huntress of the Seas is being featured in the Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Massachusetts); and students in Fargo, North Dakota are enjoying The Drinking Gourd which is currently running in the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. In the spring of 2010, other stories are slated for the Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan) and the Salina Journal (which will run a serialized version of Blue Creek Farm in two parts).
Drawn by Lisa Goldfinger
Learn More about Tom's serialized stories.
Last Updated: 2/08/10
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