Teacher, Author. Born the night of a major storm in Lexington, Virginia, William H. Armstrong was the son of Howard Gratton Armstrong and Ida Morris. He was surrounded by history in his home state of Virginia and inevitably his favorite subject became history. He had a difficult time in school, being a small child with asthma and wearing glasses, but his life changed when a teacher in his sixth grade class recognized the quality of one of his homework assignments. He was fortunate to have a mother who read to him every day, and his imagination soared listening to Bible stories. He also heard stories while sitting around his family's kitchen table when he was a child. One story in particular, told by an elderly black man about Argus, the faithful dog of Odysseus, fascinated him; the dog recognized his master when he returned home after being away for twenty long years. This story stayed with him throughout his life and ultimately was the inspiration for his award winning children's book, "Sounder". He taught general studies and ancient history to ninth graders at Kent School in Connecticut for fifty-two years during which time he wrote his first book "Study is Hard Work" in 1956. He went on to write over 15 books, the best known being his beloved book about a poor black sharecropper's family and their faithful dog, "Sounder."
Teacher, Author. Born the night of a major storm in Lexington, Virginia, William H. Armstrong was the son of Howard Gratton Armstrong and Ida Morris. He was surrounded by history in his home state of Virginia and inevitably his favorite subject became history. He had a difficult time in school, being a small child with asthma and wearing glasses, but his life changed when a teacher in his sixth grade class recognized the quality of one of his homework assignments. He was fortunate to have a mother who read to him every day, and his imagination soared listening to Bible stories. He also heard stories while sitting around his family's kitchen table when he was a child. One story in particular, told by an elderly black man about Argus, the faithful dog of Odysseus, fascinated him; the dog recognized his master when he returned home after being away for twenty long years. This story stayed with him throughout his life and ultimately was the inspiration for his award winning children's book, "Sounder". He taught general studies and ancient history to ninth graders at Kent School in Connecticut for fifty-two years during which time he wrote his first book "Study is Hard Work" in 1956. He went on to write over 15 books, the best known being his beloved book about a poor black sharecropper's family and their faithful dog, "Sounder."
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