By Jasmine Shirley
First-time children’s author and Nebraskan Sheryl Wingert drew the inspiration for her main character from both her dog and Coach Tom Osborne when she wrote Osborne and the Smells of Christmas.
Wingert was invited to Lincoln High by a former colleague, Business Department Chair Marlyce Carlson, to read to toddlers in the Student Child Learning Center on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.
Wingert’s book, published by Tate Publishing, will be available in stores on January 3rd.
Osborne and the Smells of Christmas is the story about a dog who enjoys the smells of the presents. He needs to learn to control his urges or he might open the presents too soon.
“I always wanted to write a book, but I didn’t know it was going to be a children’s book,” Wingert said. Writing about her dog was easy, Wingert said, and there may be more books to come. “I have a few more stories I can tell about Osborne.”
Wingert is a retired teacher who currently works as a high school career counselor in Omaha. She has a bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Science Education and a master’s degree in K-12 counseling. Wingert lives with her husband in a small, rural community in northeast Nebraska.
