Sharon Kanegrew up in Indiana. Her first published drawing was at age nine, when she sent a pen-and-ink drawing toHighlights. A cartoon she started in her high school paper,Buttons An' Beaux, became nationally syndicated and financed her college education at the University of Wisconsin. After graduation she began a career illustrating children's books for Little Golden Books, Rand McNally, and the Methodist Publishing House. Her best-known book for Little Golden Books isLittle Mommy.