February 24 & 25, 2007
Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchac has been creating works from his Abenaki Indian heritage and Native American traditions for nearly thirty years. He is a graduate of Cornell, holds an M.A. from Syracuse, and a Ph.D. from the Union Institute of Ohio. Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children and others of his "Keepers" series, integrates science and folklore. He is the recipient of a Scientific American Children's Book Award for The Story of the Milky Way and a Boston Globe/Horn Book honor for The Boy Who Lived with the Bears. He has been recognized for his body of work by a Cherokee Nation prose award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, and the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award. He and his wife live in New York. Website: www.josephbruchac.com
Ashley Bryan
Ashley Bryan grew up in the Bronx, New York in a house full of storytellers. His parents were from the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. With more than 30 books to his credit, he has won the Coretta Scott King Award for Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum. The Lion and Ostrich, his ABC's of African Tales and What a Morning! were all honor books. He is the recipient of the Arbuthnot Prize, an international achievement award. Ashley has been making books since he was a child. He studied at the Cooper Union Art School and Columbia University. He has taught at Queens College, Lafayette College and Dartmouth. He presently lives on an island off the coast of Maine.
Debra Frasier
Debra Frasier was born in Vero Beach, Florida. Her picture books awards include the Parents Choice Gold Award, a Minnesota Book Award for Illustration, a Hungry Mind Book of Distinction Award, Teacher and Children's Choice Awards from the International Reading Association, and the Best Children's Book Award from the Southeastern Booksellers' Association. She was Director of Animation with the Minnesota Orchestra's NotesAlive! label on their first video which won the American Library Association's Andrew Carnegie Medal. On the Day You Were Born, has been translated into six languages and was a Reading Rainbow Feature Program for PBS. This book, often called "a contemporary classic," celebrated its tenth anniversary with over one million copies in print. Miss Alaineus, A Vocabulary Disaster, was selected as an Oprah Summer Reading List title. She, her husband, photographer James Henkel, and their daughter live in Minnesota. Website: www.debrafrasier.com
Darwin Henderson
Darwin L. Henderson is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Cincinnati where he holds a joint appointment in Literacy and Early Childhood Education. His research interests lie in 20th and 21st century African American writers and illustrators of literature for children and youth. His research is concentrated in the areas of cultural aesthetics, reviews of literature texts, and interviews of acclaimed authors and illustrators. His articles, reviews, and interviews have appeared in Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Children's Literature, Children's Literature in Education, and the Children's Literature Association Quarterly, among others. Darwin is chair of the 2007 Coretta Scott King Book Award jury, a member of the advisory board of the Children's Defense Fund's Langston Hughes Library in Clinton, TN, and co-editor of Exploring Culturally Diverse Literature for Children and Adolescents: Learning to Listen in New Ways.
Yuyi Morales
Yuyi Morales is an artist, author, puppet maker, Brazilian folk dancer, and former host of a Spanish-language storytelling radio show. Born in Veracruz, Mexico, she attended the University of Xalapa, then moved with her husband and son to the United States in 1995. She wrote and illustrated Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, which won the Pura Belpre Award, the Americas Award, Tomas Rivera Award, and the Latino Book Award. She illustrated Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, by Katherine Krull (the Spanish edition translated by F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada), which won a second Pura Belpre Award, the Jane Adams Book Award, Christopher Award and was named the Best Book of the Year by numerous organizations, including School Library Journal. Yuyi Morales lives in the Bay Area with her husband and son. Website: www.yuyimorales.com
Teri Sloat
Teri Sloat an author/illustrator was born in Salem, Oregon, graduated from Oregon State University and taught in remote Yup'ik villages in Western Alaska. She worked in one of the first bilingual production centers with Yup'ik elders on stories from oral folklore, The Eye of the Needle, The Hungry Giant of the Tundra, Berry Magic, and Dance on a Sealskin. Teri lives in Sebastopol, CA, but spends part of each year working with native Alaskan writers. She has been instrumental in the Alaska Northwest Books First Language Program, stories translated into the indigenous languages of the north. Her books appear on many state reading lists. She has been honored by ALA, ABA, CCB, BBC, First Alaskans, NY Times Best Books and the Benjamin Franklin Committee. Other books are I'm A Duck, Sody Sallyratus, Hark! the Aardvark Angels Sing! and There was an Old Man who Painted the Sky. Website: www.terisloat.com
Jane Yolen
photo © Jason Stemple
Jane Yolen famed as "the Hans Christian Andersen of America," is the author of almost 300 books, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight. She was born in New York City, and graduated from Smith College. Her books include novels, short stories, poetry, nonfiction and cover a range of ages; babies to adult. She has won an assortment of awards; two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, a Caldecott, the Golden Kite Award, three Mythopoeic awards, two Christopher Medals, a nomination for the National Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award. She is also the winner (for body of work) of the Kerlan Award and the Catholic Library's Regina Medal. Five colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates. She is known for her vast imagination and ability to write in many genres She divides her time between Western Massachusetts and Scotland. Website: www.janeyolen.com
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