Sterne was of German-Jewish background, and was born in Birmingham, Alabama. When she was growing up she had never seen or heard "an educated color person. She had never even heard the name of a black man or woman who had done anything notable."[2] In 1913, during her freshman year of college, she attended a speech by W.E.B. Du Bois. Sterne sold her first story in May 1923, and quickly produced two books for the popular All About series. She continued writing for the rest of her life, focusing on history and children's literature, which she combined in her historical adaptations for children.