Leslie McGuire

Leslie McGuire
Biographical information
Born	January 18, 1945
Career information
Website	http://lesliemcguire.com/index.htm

“

If a story is to have any value for a child, it should bring some meaning to life, love, art, and the unconscious. ―Quote from her website

”

Leslie McGuire is a children's book author, editor, illustrator, and consultant who wrote the stories, "A Snake in the Grass" and "How True, Zazu?" for The Lion King: Six New Adventures.

Biography

According to her official website, Leslie McGuire has worked for many years in the children's book industry and her primary concern has always been that children not only have books to read that have a strong message, but even more important, they should love reading. Her inspiration for writing originates from Bruno Bettelheim who said in The Uses of Enchantment, "The acquisition of skills, including the ability to read, becomes devalued when what one has learned to read adds nothing of importance to one’s life." From New York University, McQuire garnered Masters Degree Program in Education and New York State Teaching License.

McGuire worked for as an editorial director to Disney Mouseworks where she is responsible for all phases of book development from concept and writing, through property assignment, editorial and art assignments, creative approvals, engineering and nesting sheets, to delivery of bound books. During the 1990s, McQuire wrote all types of film and animation tie-ins with Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Pocahontas, and The Goofy Movie. One of those tie-ins were The Lion King: Six News Adventures, released in November 1994, where McGuire wrote "A Snake in the Grass" and "How True, Zazu?".