Spare Parts for People

Margery Facklam was born Margery Anne Metz in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1927. She received a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Buffalo and a master's degree in science education at Buffalo State College.

She began her writing career while raising her five children. She wrote articles about parenting and family vacations for the former Buffalo Courier-Express and for magazines. She published her first children's books about natural science in 1962. She wrote more than 30 books during her lifetime including The Big Bug Book; Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars; and Anatomy of Nonfiction: Writing True Stories for Children. Two of her books, Do Not Disturb and Partners for Life, were named Outstanding Science Trade Books by the Children's Book Council and the National Science Teachers Association. And Then There Was One was named best book of 1990 by the School Library Journal. In 2005, she received the Knickerbocker Award for her body of work from the New York State Library Association.

She also worked as an assistant curator of education at the Buffalo Museum of Science, the director of education and public relations at the Aquarium of Niagara, and a coordinator of education at the Buffalo Zoo. She died on February 21, 2015 at the age of 87.

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