Traci Parsons, age 17, of Marquette, Mich., for her question:

WHO WAS EDNA FERBER?

Edna Ferber was a famous American writer of novels, plays and short stories. She was born in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1887. Her best known work was called "Show Boat," and it told about adventures on the Mississippi River.

Ferber worked with Jerome Kern and the two of them turned the "Show Boat" story into a very successful operetta.

In 1914 Ferber won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel "So big."

Ferber started out at the age of 17 as a reporter on the Milwaukee Journal in Wisconsin. Many of the experiences she had as a reporter were later relayed in her plays, novels and short stories.

One of her popular novels, "Giant," told the story about oilmen and ranchers in Texas. The book was turned into a motion picture.

Ferber also wrote "Cimarron," "Come and Get It" and "Ice Falace."

With George S. Kaufman she wrote a number of successful plays including "The Royal Family," "Dinner at Eight" and "Stage Door."

Ferber died in 1968 at the age of 81.