Welcome to my website! I write children’s books, edit educational resources, swim, sweat, paddle, and explore.
All in Dazzling Women Designers
We’re in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and so much has been turned upside-down. My heart goes out to children, teens, and young people who have had to adapt to huge changes.
Spring and fall are the choice times to schedule school book talks. The weather is more predictable for longer commutes, which means fewer snow days and cancellations. By this time of the school year -- June -- students are longing for summer. Classes take on a more celebratory tone with outdoor poetry lessons, strolls around the neighbourhood, and large-scale art projects, such as painting murals for graduation ceremonies. Fall marks the start of the school year and is a-buzz with enthusiasm, planning, and bountiful ideas for an exciting year ahead.
I was dazzled and delighted to find two copies of Dazzling Women Designers in my mail box yesterday. What an amazing surprise! These didn't look anything like my other copies, though. They are Korean translations. The cover looks completely different, as does the inside -- and I don't just mean the text. Many of the photos are new and they have more photos showing the designers' work. The cover features fabric designed by Senegal's Aissa Dione and India's Ritu Kumar. I spotted a photo of R2D2 in the profile about robot designer Cynthia Breazeal.
Great news! You'll never guess what I discovered in my email in-box last Friday (Jan. 27)! Dazzling Women Designers (Second Story Press, 2010) is on the Amelia Bloomer List 2012. This news totally made my day!
A little research unearthed more details about what this list is all about. I feel truly honoured. The Amelia Bloomer Project, which is part of the American Library Association's (ALA's) Social Responsibility Roundtable Feminist Task Force, annually selects the best feminist books for children and teens, published within the last 18 months. Librarians from public and university libraries across the U.S. make up the ten committee members who read many, many books and make the final selections.
