She was born in
Kamsack,
Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in
Saskatoon. As a child, she liked to think up and read new stories. Through her best friend in high school, who was born to Japanese immigrants, Coerr developed an interest in
calligraphy,
Japanese food, and
origami. She was exposed to Japanese scenery and told her friend that she wished to visit Japan one day, a request which Coerr fulfilled during the writing of
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. She attended the
University of Saskatchewan, later transferring to the Kadel Airbrush School. She earned a
bachelor's degree in English from
American University, and a
master's degree in library science from the
University of Maryland. After graduation, Coerr worked as a
newspaper reporter and
editor of a children's column. She taught children's literature at
Monterey Peninsula College and creative writing at
Chapman College in
California. Coerr both wrote and illustrated her first book in 1945, although she did not begin to publish her work until the 1960s. Her later works included children's books, philanthropy, and giving lectures at American universities and overseas. She is perhaps best known for her book
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, published in 1977. It told the story of
Sadako Sasaki, who was diagnosed with
leukemia due to complications from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima when she was two years old. She is told that folding a thousand paper cranes will make her well. Coerr died on November 22, 2010, at the age of 88. Both she and Wymberly were cremated. ==Books==