by Rod Jones
Oklahoma City University and Full Circle Bookstore will host a book signing for author and alumna LaDonna Kramer Meinders at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14. The bookstore is located in 50 Penn Place at Pennsylvania Avenue and the Northwest Expressway.
Meinders released a book of poetry for children titled “What Would You Do If A Kangaroo…,” illustrated by Betty Walls Boyd. The book was published last year by the Oklahoma Heritage Association.
Meinders is an advocate for children’s literacy and wrote the book in hopes of encouraging them to read, and for parents and grandparents to read to them.
“Once children experience the joy of reading, they discover a life-long treasure and I hope we can kindle that,” Meinders said. “My young grandchildren are readers, and that is very exciting for me.”
Meinders said she has been writing poetry since she was in the second grade. While growing up on a farm overlooking the Cimarron River in Kingfisher County, she would write plays, short stories and poetry for her friends in elementary school.
In adult life, Meinders published a memoir titled “Leaves in the Wind” about growing up in rural Oklahoma, a collection of devotional readings titled “Angel Hugs” and a collection of meditations titled “Angel Hugs for Cancer Patients.”
After high school, Meinders attended Oklahoma City University where she met and was roommates with illustrator Betty Walls Boyd, who also had a rural upbringing. During college, Meinders won the Miss OCU pageant and went on to become Miss Oklahoma.
After graduation, Meinders was the organist at First Christian Church for more than 20 years. She also performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the nation’s Bicentennial Celebration.
Boyd grew up on a farm near Eufaula. She was always interested in art, especially watercolor and pastels, and started producing works for exhibits after retiring. Her illustrations are also featured in “The Rainbow and the Path” by David Kanowsky.
