After ten years as a K-12 classroom teacher and reading specialist, Cori Heberer-Luigs began writing children’s books to capture family memories and to help navigate “being a kid.”
Cori grew up in St. Charles, graduated from St. Charles West High School (’95), went to St. Charles Community College and graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an elementary education degree. “I became a teacher in a rural school district for ten years while working toward a master's degree. I loved my students and worked hard for them. But, teaching just wasn't what I thought it would be,” explains Cori. “Choosing to leave teaching a few years ago was difficult, but I knew it was the right move for me.”
But while teaching, Cori discovered a passion for writing stories. “Writing books was never something I longed to do. My creative background includes music mostly, so I always imagined myself doing something with that. In high school, I had a writing teacher that got me thinking and got me writing. Writing papers for school was never really fun, but when I had something fun to write, I really enjoyed it,” says Cori.
“During my last year of teaching, I had a smaller class and was able to read more children's books with them. My favorites always had a surprise of some sort, so I do that with my books. During that final year, I gave the state test to one student every day for two weeks and was unable to do much of anything besides stare at the child, making him or her nervous. So, I got my notebook out and played around with my first book. Writing passed the time and made the long hours tolerable.”
So far, her family has inspired her creative book ideas. She says her first book, Nate Saves the World, came from a joke her husband told her several years ago. And her next book, The Boo Boo Mystery, was inspired by her young daughter, who for several years, explained every cut or scratch she would get as coming from grasshoppers! Cori still laughs at the memory.
She has several books she’s working on and plans to release in the next year or so. You can find more information about this vibrant author and her books on Amazon, as well as her website at DoodleBearPub.com and her Facebook page called Reading Passport.