About Me
Born in Oakland, California, Nancy Strom (nee Stocker) was educated at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduation, she worked in Academic Personnel in the Chancellor’s Office on the Berkeley campus, where she met Prince Charles when he was on a campus tour. After this brief brush with celebrity, she continued a career in Human Resources, including positions in academic personnel at the Lawrence Hall of Science on the Berkeley campus. While at Lawrence Hall she wrote a new procedure for the promotion and advancement of Instructors (non-Professor Series educators) which was incorporated into the University’s Academic Personnel guidelines.
In 1980, Nancy moved back to Seattle, Wa., where she had attended high school at Bellevue High, across the lake from Seattle. Here she worked in personnel management and legal administration for the law firm of Karr, Tuttle, Koch, Campbell, Mawer and Morrow for several years.
Later she joined her husband in a small company he owned, and there her penchant for teaching came to the fore. They had 40 employees, half of whom were immigrants from Southeast Asia who spoke little English. Nancy received a grant to start an English as a Second Language (ESL) program in the workplace. And then she devised The Buddy Program to be part of ESL. This program brought sales staff, who were native English-speaking employees, into ESL as buddies (tutors) to the Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian employees as they learned English. For The Buddy System, Nancy won an award from the Association of Washington Businesses for her innovative approach to employee relations and interactions. Nancy says the effect the program had on all the employees who took part, was heartwarming. The language was ceasing to be a barrier in their workplace, and the production workers and sales staff were all touched and encouraged by the experience.
Nancy and Van, along with Molly, their Labrador Retriever, live on a hobby farm near Seattle. Nancy first read the Wind in the Willows as a teenager and ever since has dreamed of writing a children’s book with animals as the main characters. Once retired, she started working on this lifetime dream. She was looking for a twist, so she tried writing in rhyme. And her experiences with her young grandnieces and nephews convinced her that an adventure needed to be an integral part of the story. Scooter and Friends Take a Vacation is a result.
Nancy is now working on a sequel.
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Nancy is available for speaking events, conferences and author encounters. Her specialist keynote addresses the publishing process for an independent author, working with an illustrator and the importance of marketing. If you would like Nancy to speak to your organization, business, group or school click here to enquire.
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Andrew Thurman
Shoreline Rotary President, 2019-2020
Reviews
Scooter and Friends Take A Vacation by Nancy Strom is a super cute and quirky story about four lovable and whimsical animal friends that are ready to go on a fun adventure and take on whatever comes their way! Scooter, a mischievous, furry red fox and her friend Murphy, a cool hedgehog, decide that a great and enjoyable vacation trip is in order for them and their friends. Bandit, a young raccoon and the always singing Betsy, a gnawing beaver, are the other friends to join them on their trek for adventure. After a friendly meeting with some lovely homemade treats, the animals decide to take a trip past the river to see what they can find. The next day they pack their backpacks with all their needs and excitedly head out together. They run into a toad that gives them advice on which way is the safest to go. Along their way they encounter many new and different things along with some rude and crude poker playing weasels that really give them a scare! But the friends make it through to live and tell the tale of their impromptu trip and how they can’t wait to do it again!
Scooter and Friends Take A Vacation is a lovely and charming book that really captivated me from the very beginning. I loved the sing song poetry feel of how, children’s author, Nancy Strom narrates the story, along with its simple, yet rich vocabulary and detailed descriptions of the characters and their unexpected undertakings. The illustrations are just simply beautiful and colorful pulling children further into the delightful plot line and painting an appealing picture for all to imagine.
I could definitely see and picture Scooter and Friends Take A Vacation by Nancy Strom becoming a likable classic with its appealing and charismatic characters and its winsome pictures. A story that may be enjoyed by an audience of all ages! A must have book for any child’s book collection or reading list!
Kids Lit Book Cafe highly recommends Scooter and Friends Take A Vacation by Nancy Strom, a wonder filled, adventurous story with amazing and memorable life lessons for every child to learn and enjoy!
A delightful story we will enjoy reading to our grand children for years to come. The characters remind me of some friends from my childhood, but I would definitely be Scooter. Love the rhyming adventure.
Mary Fellows Nelson
Carnation, Wa
Fun, exciting and charming! Scooter and Friends is a book for children of all ages. A delight from start to finish.
Janet Keller
Fally City8, Wa
'This story, set in rhyme, is fun for children and adults. There is plenty of action, some danger and friendships made stronger as a result of coming through it together. I volunteer in the primary grades of my local school and look forward to reading about Scooter and her friends’ adventures with my class.
Annie Green
Chewelah, Wa
Nancy has written a delightful children's short story featuring a cast of unique characters who you really come to care about. It involves four friends – Scooter, a mischievous red fox pup; Murphy, a cheerful pudgy hedgehog; Bandit, a gung ho young raccoon; and Betsy, a singing beaver, who set out on a journey to see what's beyond the glade they call home. The brilliant illustrations and cadence of the rhyming will evoke excitement, awe, and laughter, and adults reading to young children should enjoy the cleverness of the author in weaving a perfectly believable story.
Melinda Koethe
Fall City, Wa