These are just a few of the many excellent books she has authored.  Ms. Pfeffer has also written  countless articles and stories for magazines. She especially enjoys talking to children about writing creatively.

Her enthusiasm  is catching.   She captured the imagination of the kids.   Bobbie Crane, a Pre-K teacher, reports that five of her students returned to the classroom determined that there is no time like the present to begin their careers.   They asked her to staple some pieces of paper together so that they could make a book.  One boy wrote a sentence on the first page.  He then put his "book" away in his cubby.  Ms. Crane asked him why he was putting the book away.  He said that he would work on it again tomorrow and again the next day and so on.  He reminded Ms. Crane that the author Wendy Pfeffer said that you should work on a story every day because it takes a long time to write a good book.

Wendy Pfeffer did not become an author overnight.  She had many rejections.   However, she really loves to write and she kept at it.  Her first book, The Gooney Wars, took ten years to get published.  She was so proud when the book appeared on the shelves.  She is so glad that she hadn't given up.  Ms. Pfeffer encourages students to keep practicing and to believe in themselves. 
 

Wendy Pfeffer writes both fiction and non fiction books.  She labels her novels "faction" because they are a combination of fact and fiction.  She says that authors must make sure that the details in the narrative are true to the time and place.

Ms. Pfeffer is best known for her captivating books about nature and science.  Her books are engaging, descriptive and lucid.  She has won numerous awards.  She described her research process and how carefully she checks and rechecks the details in her books.  She said that writers have a great responsibility to be absolutely correct especially when children are using their books to learn about the world.  She used  a photograph  planned for a book on the Arctic as an example about the need for accuracy:
 

What's wrong with this picture?  There are no trees in the Arctic!   Ms. Pfeffer insisted that the photo be removed from the book.  The illustrator is chosen by the editor.  The editor is a very important influence on the book.   They decide what gets published, how the book will be illustrated and how the layout will be designed.

 
1. Determine a main character (the dog)
2. Give the character a name (Astro)
3. Put the character in a setting (Houston space program)
4. Give the character a problem (his family is going into space and they have to leave him behind)
5. Solve the problem (the boy smuggles him onto the space ship)

Our students returned to their workshops inspired to become writers themselves.   Wendy Pfeffer had shown that writing is not a magic.  Good writers break down the process into concrete steps.  They get their facts straight.  They cultivate their creative  ideas.  But most important of all they keep working!