top of page
Stone Cottage

"Be an opener of doors"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Children's Books

Environmental
book1.JPG

A cumulative rhyme describes the components of a prairie from soil partners, roots and pollinators through plants, grazers and predators to the sky-high lightning that brings revitalizing fire... The writing is lively and suggestive, ... While the text will read aloud nicely, the images are worth the careful attention a child reading alone can give them. . . . A vivid introduction to a vital habitat."

—Kirkus Reviews

The Prairie That Nature Built

Illustrated by Cathy Morrison
Ages: 4 to 10, 32 pages
Dawn Publications, 2014
Paperback: ISBN 978-1-58469-492-2  Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-58469-491-5

A wild prairie is a lively place in this rhythmic romp with munchers and crunchers above and below the grasses so thick, and fires that flare, and rains that quench—and always the prairie grows green. Back matter offers information and activities for a fuller appreciation of this marvelous, disappearing habitat.

Awards and Recognition

  • 2014 Mom's Choice Gold Medal Award Winner for Animal/Nature Books

  • 2015 Family Choice Award

prairie underground illustration prairie nature built.jpg
Planet Patrol

Planet Patrol:
A Kids' Action Guide to Earth Care

Illustrated by Nancy Meyers
Two-Can Children's Publishing, 2005
hardcover ISBN 978-1-58728-514-1
paperback ISBN 978-1-58728-518-9

This guide combines ecological concepts with fun facts, examples of what kids are doing worldwide, and action tips. Illustrated with cartoons and photos. Perfect for your little one who wants to make a difference! 

Things Natural, Wild, and Free: 
The Life of Aldo Leopold

Grades 4- Young Adult
Fulcrum Books, 2011
grades 4 to young adult,
ISBN 978-1-55591-474-5

Adventure—as a child Aldo Leopold was always looking for it as he wandered over the bluffs along the Mississippi with his dog, Spud. This led Leopold to become a forester, wildlife scientist, author, and one of the most important conservationists in history. This book features historic black and white photographs, a timeline, resource and activity sections, a time line, and a bibliography.

book7.JPG
Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart

Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart

Illustrated by Renee Graef
Sleeping Bear Press, 2007
ISBN978-1-58536-289-9
(currently out of print--hopes to re-release as
Lucette! Paul Bunyan Meets His Match)

That giant of a lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, has finally met his match in the tall and lovely Lucette Diana Kensack of Hackensack. But can Paul win her love? She gives him three fun tasks to see if he is worthy—Paul does his best, to comical results. Will she take him? Can she help him see the damage he is doing to the forests and animals? Is there another way?

Basis of new musical "Lucette! A Lively Tale of Lumberjacks, Trees & Paul Bunyan"

Awards:
Bank Street College's Best Children's Books of the Year List, 2008

John Muir & Stickeen:
An Icy Adventure with a No-Good Dog

co-authored with Julie Dunlap (first author)
illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
NorthWord Press, 2004
ages 4 and up
ISBN 978-1-55971-903-2

The famous nature-lover John Muir loves glaciers but he doesn't like pets—then he ends up on an Alaskan adventure with a mutt named Stickeen. Stickeen proves to be even more stubborn than Muir! Will they both make it back to camp alive? This story is based on first-hand accounts, with quotations from Muir’s journals sprinkled throughout.

Awards
The Teachers Choice Award 2005 from Learners Magazine

Capture.JPG
book10.JPG

Louisa May & Mr. Thoreau's Flute

coauthored with Julie Dunlap (first author)
illustrated by Mary Azarian
ages 5 and up
Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin Putnam, 2002
ISBN 978-0-8037-2470-9

Young Louisa May Alcott is so wild a child her parents don't know what to do. Her father tries to use writing to help tame her spirit. But Louy seems to make more ink blots than words. Then she begins going on field trips with other neighborhood children guided by her sister's teacher, Henry David Thoreau. In the woods and on the river, Louisa learns from Mr. Thoreau about the magic in nature and the enchantment of words, especially one's own. In the end, she writes her first poem. A book for lovers of writing and lovers of nature.

Awards
Parents Choice Award 2002; Adult /Children's Bestsellers' List, Boston Globe, Junior Literary Guild

Prairie Dogs.jpg

Prairie Dogs

illustrated by Wayne Ford
Ages 4 & up
NorthWord Press, 2004
ages 4 to 8
ISBN 978-1-55971-883-7

Animals facing threats from human encroachment are featured in these offerings from the Our Wild World series. Prairie Dogs looks at critters considered a keystone species by scientists, linked to the survival of about 40 other species. Horse-lovers will gravitate to the doe-eyed bays on the cover of Wild Horses, which introduces readers to the scattered herds of mustangs still roaming the U.S. Both books spend a great deal of time on these animals' fascinating social systems, from the bands of mares led by a single stallion to prairie dog towns subdivided into coteries. The prose is consistently clear and lively... [Amazon review]

website anthology cover_edited_edited.pn

Stories from Where We Live:
The Great North American Prairie Anthology

anthology edited by Sara St. Antoine,
illustrated by Trudy Nicholson
Ages 9 & up
Milkweed Editions, 2001
ISBN 978-1-57131-630-1

This award-winning series helps kids (and adults) connect with the bio region they live in through stories, poems, memoirs, letters, and essays written about the area. Each title serves as an excellent sourcebook for combining natural history and imagination in developing intimacy with a place. The prairie title includes works by greats, such as Cather, Sandberg, Erdrich, Least Heat Moon, and others, as well as Lorbiecki's essay "Prairie Spirits on the Wing." It tells the story of Lorbiecki's relationship with her kindred spirit bird, the meadowlark.

Awards
The series has been the ABA Kids' Pick of the Lists and Notable Social Studies Trade Books

website 2024 of things natural wild free

Of Things Natural, Wild, and Free: 
A Story about Aldo Leopold

illustrated by Kerry Maguire
Ages 8 years & up
Carolrhoda (Lerner Publications), 1993
ISBN 978-0-87614-797-9 

A children's biography of the internationally renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold.

Awards
1993 John Burroughs Nature Book; Distinguished Service to History Award, State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Multicultural

Sister Ann's Hands

illustrated by K. Wendy Popp
ages 4 and up
Dial Books (Penguin Putnam) 1998
ISBN 978-0-8037-2038-1
soft-cover edition, Puffin Books (Penguin Putnam), 2000
ISBN 978-0-14-056534-8

Sister Anne, an inspiring and fun second grade teacher, faces racism as an African American in her Midwest classroom. The story of how she turns the situation around is told through the eyes of one of her white students who is transformed by the experience.

Awards
Storyteller World's Award 1999; International Reading Association Best Books of the Year 1999 (starred); Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year; New York Public Library Notable Trade Book for Young People 1999 in Social Studies, in Literary Arts; Living the Dream Award 2000, Manhattan Country School

Sister Ann's Hands

Jackie's Bat

illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006
ages 4 and up
ISBN 978-0-689-84102-6

Joey is the Brooklyn Dodger's bat boy. It's his first season, and he finds out that it’s Jackie Robinson's first season too. Joey doesn't want to serve a black man, but what Joey learns in this exciting baseball season of 1947 he'll remember all his life. Approved by Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow.

Awards
Storytellers World Award for 2006; Manhattan Country School "Living the Dream" Award 2008

Jackie's Bat
Just One Flick of a Finger

Just One Flick of a Finger

illustrated by David Diaz
Ages 7 & up
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Putnam), 1996
ISBN 978-0-8037-1949-1
(presently out of print)

A boy who is bullied brings a gun to school to protect himself and finds the situation turns bad—told in a rap ballad style.

Awards
1997 Children's Choice; 1996 Pick of the Lists by American Library Association, the New York Public Library, and The Chicago Tribune

Painting the Dakota

Painting the Dakota: 
Seth Eastman at Fort Snelling

illustrated with paintings by Seth Eastman
Ages 11 & up

Seth Eastman came to the Minnesota Territory as an army officer in the 1830s and again in the 1840s, while the lands still belonged to the eastern Dakota or Santee Sioux. With the eye of an artist, Eastman captured the beauty and details of their everyday lives. The middle section of the book moves through the Dakota seasons of the year illustrated by Eastman's eyewitness paintings.

Awards
Best of Show, Midwest Independent Publisher Assoc.; Benjamin Franklin Award, Publishers Marketing Assoc.; Independent Publishers Book Award

book6.JPG

Escaping Titanic:
A Young Girl's True Story of Survival

Illustrated by Kory S. Heinzen
Ages 7 and up (for difficult content)
Picture Window Books, 2012
ISBN 1404871438

Just in time for the anniversary of the 100th year of the Titanic disaster comes this real life story of twelve-year-old Ruth Becker, who was aboard the ship on its voyage and who just barely escaped the sinking. Come with her on the excitement of being part of the first voyage of this luxury ship and then experience what happened that night when it hit the iceberg.

website 2024 palace of leaves cover_edit

My Palace of Leaves in Sarajevo

illustrated by Herbert Tauss
Ages 8 & up
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Putnam), 1997
ISBN 978-0-8037-2033-6 (presently out of print)

Nadja, a nine-year-old girl who lives in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, tells her story through letters to a distant cousin in Minnesota. Sensitively shows the horrors and hopes of people living in a war zone.

Awards
1998 Children's Literature Choice List; Japanese rights sold

Children of Vietnam

Children of Vietnam

Photographs by Paul Rome
ages 8 and up
Carolrhoda (Lerner Publications), 1997
ISBN 978-1-57505-034-8

This photo essay focuses on contemporary children around the country of Vietnam. The book travels from north to south, covering history, culture, natural history, and day-to-day life.

Awards
1998 Notable Trade Book for Young People in Social Studies

51QD0JV2DEL._SY419_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Welcome to Grand Teton National Park

Ages 9 to 12
Visitors Guide series,
Child's World, 2006
ISBN 978-1592966981

A tour through Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park introduces the park's flora, fauna, topography, history, weather, and attractions. Menor's Ferry, Mount Moran, The Old Patriarch, and Shoshone influences are all discussed. Additional features to aid in comprehension include a table of contents, informative captions and sidebars, detailed maps, map legends, a phonetic glossary, sources for further research, and an index.

Triceratops

Ages 9 to 12
(
North American 
Dinosaurs) Rourke Publishing, 2007
ISBN 978-1600442537

Fierce prehistoric dinosaurs are an all-time favorite among reluctant readers. Kids will have fun reading and learning about dinosaurs that once roamed the North American continent. Filled with engaging illustrations and archeology-like photographs, these books will educate as they entertain the reader. A big hit with kids of all ages.

book3.JPG
417YQLnXGWL_edited.jpg

Shapes Series: Circles & Triangles

illustrated by Sharon Lane Holm
ages 4 to 8
Abdo & Daughters, 2007
Circles --ISBN 978-1602700437
Triangles--ISBN 978-1602700437

The Shapes books provide first lessons on common shapes. Rhyming text and creative illustrations draw attention to where circles and triangles are found in the world around us.

51PKxq46gjL._SX460_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

That's Life Literature Series
Life Skills Series for Secondary Level Special Education Students

bk_able2.jpg

Friends O'Mania: A Teen's Guide to Making Friends

Jitters: A Story about Making Friends

Friendship Frenzy and Other Fun Poems

I'm Somebody, Who Are You? A Social Game for Making New Friends

 

You're There: A Teen's Guide to Going Places

On My Way, Today: A Story about Going Places

On the Move GROOVE and Other Fun Poems


Mystery Explorers: A Social Game for Finding Your Way

Designed by David Bradley - Photographs by Jim Gallop
That's Life Literature Series- AbleNet Inc., 2004

This groundbreaking new soft-cover series is targeted for secondary special-education students. The books feature vibrant low-level text and sidebars with skill concepts and photographs of high school students of different abilities. Each title comes in a themed sets (of four books a piece) aimed at developing life skills. The text and design are so lively, colorful, and contemporary that the books can also be used with students in junior high and elementary grades.

bk_able1.jpg

Luke and Leo Build a Limerick

‎Illustrated by Irene Richard

Paperback ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1603572972 ‎

Library Edition ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 160357297
Norwood House Press, 2012

Luke and Leo with some help from Lizzie and her sister have fun writing Limericks. This series can get young writers writing their own poems! Join in on the adventure as friends learn the basics of writing poetry and the use of rhyme, meter, alliteration, and other tools to write their own poems. Each book in the series covers a different type of poem. From limericks to acrostics, you can follow the story that shows the steps needed to create your new poem. Activities in the back of the book provide additional information and writing practice.

website 2024 Limerick cover_edited.jpg
Website 2024 Foodchains covers_edited.pn

Grassland Food Chains

Deep Ocean Food Chains

‎Illustrated by Hazel Adams

Ages 7 and up

Fascinating Food Chains series, Magic Wagon

Grasslands

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1602707952

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1602707955

Deep Ocean

  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1602707936

  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1602707931

bottom of page