Today I proudly welcome educator and writer Norah Colvin here to guest post. Blogger Norah talks about the 12 women writers and illustrators who she recently interviewed.
I was delighted when she accepted my offer to visit and chat about some of the women she has highlighted on her website so far in their roles as writers and illustrators for children’s books. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did upon receiving it. Norah, the floor is yours.
Interviews throughout the year
Each month for the past year, I have interviewed an author or illustrator of children’s books, mainly picture books, for my readilearn blog. I was delighted when Christy Birmingham invited me to share information about these inspirational women on her blog.
In each of the interviews, the women talk about their motivation for writing or illustrating, what inspired them to become writers or illustrators, and share advice for teachers to encourage children as writers.
1. Rebecca Johnson
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rebecca Johnson twice. The first time she told us about her Insect Series which won the 2014 Whitley Award for Best Educational Series. In the second interview, Rebecca told us about Rainforest Camp from the Juliet Nearly a Vet series of junior fiction books which this year won the Wilderness Society Award for Children’s Literature, the second of Rebecca’s books to have done so.
In addition to being an author, Rebecca is a part-time primary school science teacher and mother of two. She believes her love of telling stories actually began right back in high school, inspired by hearing, then repeating, a good joke. She went on to become a teacher and has now written over 80 books. Her past experience as a wildlife carer has given her an extra insight into the behaviour of our native animals, giving her fiction stories a taste of realism.
At the beginning of 2016, I was excited by a Kickstarter project to publish Magic Fish Dreaming a beautiful book of poems written by June Perkins and illustrated by Helene Magisson. I was delighted to support the Kickstarter and see this project develop from the very beginning, right through to its launch, which I attended. I was even more delighted to interview both June and Helene.
2. Inspiring women writers: June Perkins
June Perkins works with many forms of artistic expression. She is one of the avid women writers on this list, as well as doing poetry, photography, digital storytelling, blogging, video documentary, and education.
In the interview, June explained that she spent nearly a decade living in Far North Queensland, and was mesmerised by its natural beauty, intrigued by its inhabitants, and learned some wisdom through its distinctive weather and people.
Prior to writing Magic Fish Dreaming, she wrote many short nonfiction pieces for ABC Open, and ABC Open’s award-winning Aftermath project, and worked as an invited editor on 500 words. She holds a doctorate from the University of Sydney on the topic of Writing Empowerment (2004).
June recently won an Australian Society of Authors Emerging Writing Mentorship to work on one of her picture book manuscripts. She has several other texts in development and looks forward to sharing them with potential publishers, and readers, one day soon.
3. Women illustrators include Helene Magisson
Helen Magisson explained that she began her artistic career as a painting restorer in Paris. It was there that she also trained in the art of medieval illumination.
Helene has lived in countries all over the world, including Africa, France, and India. Her travels both inspire and enrich her work. She now calls Australia home, and it was when she settled in Australia, that Helene began a new career illustrating children’s books.
Helene has illustrated four books for New Frontier Publishing including The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco, and The Night before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. She is now working on her seventh book for Wombat Books.
4. Lauri Fortino
It was wonderful to interview Lauri Fortino about the publication of her first picture book The Peddler’s Bed. I had met Lauri through her reviews of books which she publishes on her blog Frog on a (B)log. By day, Lauri is a library assistant and by night, a picture book writer. In her day job, she gets to read and enjoy a great variety of books, especially picture books.
Lauri says that she knew at age 11 that she wanted to be an author. For an autobiography assignment in fifth or sixth grade, on a page entitled What I’ll be Doing in 1998, she wrote “I want to write children’s books mainly about animals.” It was just seventeen years after Lauri’s first book was published.
She says that even before age 11, she was writing and illustrating her own stories. When it comes to women writers, Lauri was carving her path to becoming one from a young age.
5. Women writers: Karen Tyrrell
Another author I had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Tyrrell, an award-winning author who writes books to empower kids (and adults) and help them live strong and be resilient.
After many years of classroom teaching experience, Karen continues to educate through sharing her own story of resilience as a survivor of bullying, through her words on the page, and through her workshops for adults that deal with writing, marketing, and funding, in addition to empowerment. She presents workshops for children in schools, libraries, and other creative spaces. With her flair for costuming and performance, she always conducts entertaining sessions with a splash of fun staring in her own scripted pantomimes.
In her first book Me and Her: A Memoir of Madness, Karen tells of the bullying she experienced as a teacher, and of her remarkable survival story. Her second, Me and Him: A Guide to Recovery tells of the important role of her husband as support on her journey back to health.
From there Karen has gone on to write a number of children’s books, including Bailey Beats the Blah and STOP the Bully, both of which are endorsed by Kids Helpline. She won a RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund) grant for her picture book Harry Helps Grandpa Remember about memory loss and strategies for remembering.
Karen’s four Junior Fiction novels Jo-Kin Battles the It, Jo-Kin vs Lord Terra, Song Bird Superhero, and The Battle of Bug World share positive messages of self-belief, resilience, team building, problem-solving and STEM science; each with a good dose of humour included.
6. Women writers and illustrators: Chrissy Byers
The first author-illustrator I interviewed for the readilearn blog is Chrissy Byers. It was only after many years in the classroom as an early childhood educator, and becoming a parent herself, that Chrissy was able to fulfil her lifelong dream of being an author and illustrator. With the success of her first book The Magic in Boxes, and the recent publication of her second The Magic in Dress-ups, Chrissy shows us that dreams can come true.
Chrissy’s inspiration for writing the books was the decline that she had noticed in the amount of time children spent engaging in imaginative play. She felt compelled to write and illustrate a children’s book which would remind parents, and inspire children, to see the magic in everyday household junk.
What also inspires me about Chrissy’s books is that she sourced recycled paper and card choices for both the hard and soft cover versions of her book. All text pages are a combination of consumer pulp and recycled materials. The lovely end pages on the hard cover edition were manufactured in France and are 100% recycled. The paper back cardboard cover comes from Germany and is also 100% recycled. There are few, if any, other children’s book on the market which use recycled materials in this way.
7. Cynthia Mackey is on this list of women illustrators
As with Lauri and Chrissy, I interviewed Cynthia Mackey after the publication of her first picture book Katie Schaeffer Pancake Maker. I’d had the pleasure of being a beta reader and providing Cynthia with feedback during her writing process. It was all the more special then, to see the book when it was published.
Cynthia has always loved children’s literature. After years of teaching preschool and kindergarten, she is proud to have written her first children’s book which encourages children to play creatively using loose parts. Cynthia writes in her spare time and has plans to publish more picture books for children. (I know one’s on the way. I was happy to be chosen as a beta reader again. 😊 )
Cynthia lives on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada with her family and her piano where she faithfully continues her weekend pancake tradition.
Read about another Canadian author, Cher G., here.
8. Muza Ulasowski
Helene Magisson used beautiful water colour paintings for illustrating Magic Fish Dreaming. Chrissy Byers used mixed media including photographs and sketches for her book. Muza Ulasowski told me in her interview how she creates her beautiful illustrations digitally.
A graphic designer and children’s book illustrator based in Brisbane, Australia, Muza is both inspired and surrounded by a vast array of local birds and animals who tend to make their appearances in her book illustrations.
In 2010, she was invited to illustrate her first children’s picture book and enjoyed it so much, that she has been collaborating ever since with Australian and international authors. To date she has illustrated over 11 children’s picture books and is currently illustrating several more which will be published in 2017/18. Whilst primarily concentrating on creating digital images for children’s picture books, Muza also specializes in graphic design, designing book covers and book layouts to print-ready stage for women writers and others.
In her spare time, she enjoys illustrating in pencil and charcoal, acrylic painting, wildlife photography, sewing, and creating artworks for her colourful and crafty ETSY store.
9. Aleesah Darlison: Another of the interviewed women writers
Aleesah Darlison had written over 35 books for children when I met up with her. I know that number is increasing, making her one of the most active women writers.
In 2016, Aleesah set up Greenleaf Press, a business designed to provide critical support services to authors and illustrators. The company also acts as a booking agency for school and preschool visits.
In addition to picture books, Aleesah writes chapter books and novels. Her much-loved stories promote courage, understanding, anti-bullying, self-belief, teamwork and environmental themes. In 2015, she won the Environment Award for Children’s Literature (Non-Fiction) for her picture book, Our Class Tiger. She has won numerous other awards for her writing.
10. More women writers: Brenda S. Miles, PhD
Putting a slightly different spin on the writing process was the interview with co-authors of the fractured fairy tale Cinderstella, Brenda Miles and Susan Sweet.
Brenda S. Miles, PhD, is a pediatric neuropsychologist who has worked in hospital, rehabilitation, and school settings. She is an author and co-author of several books for children, including Move your Mood! and Stickly Sticks to It!: A Frog’s Guide to Getting Things Done. Brenda encourages children of all ages to dream big, find joy, and embrace adventure.
Susan D. Sweet, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist and mother of two. She has worked in hospital, school, and community-based settings and is passionate about children’s mental health and well-being. Susan hopes all children follow their dreams and find their own happily ever afters.
Susan and Brenda also co-authored Princess Penelopea Hates Peas: A Tale of Picky Eating and Avoiding Catastropeas and King Calm: Mindful Gorilla in the City.
11. Pamela Wight
I loved the story behind the publication of Pamela Wight’s first picture book Birds of Paradise, a book thirty-five years in the making. When I read the delightful book, I just knew I had to interview her – a story book with its own happy-ever-after story.
Pamela Wight humorously places herself in a group of what she calls “bi-genre” or “ambi-writers.” She tells us to think of Ian Fleming who wrote the James Bond books, and also switched genres and wrote the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She reminds us that before A.A. Milne wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh books, he penned a popular whodunit entitled The Red House Mystery.
Before fulfilling her lifelong dream of publishing her children’s story Birds of Paradise about two special sparrows, Pamela wrote two books of romantic suspense, The Right Wrong Man and Twin Desires. That certainly qualifies her as an ambi-writer.
12. Women illustrators like Kim Michelle Toft
I have been an admirer of Kim Michelle Toft’s work for many years. Not only does she do the most marvellous and unique silk paintings to illustrate her work, her books inspire children, and adults, to share her passion for protecting the ocean and its inhabitants.
In the interview, Kim explained that she started drawing when she was 4 years old. She would spend hours on her own, drawing. Her mother would buy her small Golden Books and take her to see all the Walt Disney movies. That’s when she knew that she wanted a career in art. She started writing and illustrating her own picture books when her daughter Casey was born, 26 years ago.
Kim lived her entire adult life on a beach somewhere in Australia. Her love of ocean, its force and its beauty is what inspires, calms and fascinates Kim.
Through her illustrations and stories, she gives the ocean’s inhabitants a voice and help to educate children about their preservation. At the back of all her books, Kim includes additional information about the creatures and the environment. Her books are a wonderful combination of story, art and information.
The interviews with these inspiring women writers and illustrators can be read in full on the readilearn blog. They are also available as PDFs to download, print and share with children.
About Norah Colvin
Norah Colvin is an early childhood educator. After many years in the classroom and a variety of other educational roles, Norah now makes and shares teaching resources on her website readilearn.
You can connect with Norah on her blogs Norah Colvin and Readilearn, as well as on Twitter at @NorahColvin and @readilearn.
On Facebook, connect with Norah Colvin and @readilearnteachingresources. Reach out to Norah at LinkedIn too.
A fantastic lineup of authors and illustrators, Norah! Thank you for introducing them to us, and thank you, Christy, for featuring Norah. Outstanding post ❤❤
You’re precious for being here to support everyone, Tina! <3
❤
Norah and Christy.. thanks for this most enjoyable read.
Thanks for being here, Paul!
I re read this all the way through again! There is a great deal of talent here and books that would be wonderful additions to any library or book shelf. I never cease wishing I had grandchildren to share them with when I read your book posts Norah! :-)
This is a quintessential WWI post! Wonderful and congratulations!
Tomorrow our Women in Film committee meets. Sexual harassment in the workplace is on the agenda. Should be very interesting! xoxo
Thank you, Resa. It was wonderful of Christy to share my post here.
That sounds like quite the meeting, Resa. You are welcome to guest post about it, if you like. In all cases, I support your work for equality <3 Thanks for supporting Norah and the other ladies featured in this post too!
Wonderfully inspiring Christy, you are wonderful for sharing such great work! And such wonderfully talented writers too!
Thank you, Joan. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post.
Such inspiring women who bring literary art to life for children. I also want to say that I find Norah Colvin and her creativity inspiring!
Thank you, Charli. What a lovely comment too. I appreciate the generosity of your words.
I am THRILLED as well as honored to be chosen by Norah as one of the inspirational writers/illustrators in this post. To be honest, Norah inspires me. She writes so passionately about education and educators, and shares her thoughts and ‘finds’ of books that enhance education so generously.
Thank you, Pam. I am touched by your comment. I don’t know what to say in response. I share work I find valuable and people I find inspirational. I don’t think of myself as that, but the possibility is positively encouraging.
<3
A wonderful post. I love Norah’s inspiring blog, Christie.
Thank you, Robbie. What a lovely comment. I really appreciate your kind words. They mean a lot to me.
Terrific interview!!
Thanks, Jennie!
You’re welcome, Norah.
Thanks for this informative post and sharing such lovely stories, Christy!
I’m pleased you enjoyed the post, Prajakta. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thanks Christy for giving Norah the space to tell us her story of highlighting these amazing women who know the value of reading for children and have turned that knowledge into an art form in writing and illustrating books for children! I enjoyed this muchly thank you! Good luck to all of them and to Norah especially, for the hard work involved in all her interesting and inspiring posts.
Susan, Thank you so much for your encouraging comment. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the interview series and found the stories inspiring. There are so many talented writers and illustrators, it’s impossible to showcase them all, but I do what I can.
Christy and Norah, thank you so much for this wonderfully inspiring post. 😀😀 I feel energised reading them all, seeing their work – an amazing selection of women writers! I know Pam well from her lovely blog, so great to see her featured and had to smile at her ‘ambi-writer’ phrase…I love learning something new! It’s a joy to meet so many new to me authors and I look forward to reading on …
Isn’t it amazing, Annika, to read about so many of us out there – talented and inspired by each other? You, of course, are right there among us. I love how we spotlight each other’s passions and talents. Norah and Christy – RIGHT ON. xo
Thank you, Pam. I’m not aware of Annika’s work. I’ll have to be better informed. Thank you so much for participating in the readilearn interview series. It was a great pleasure to learn more about your process.
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, Annika. I’m so pleased you enjoyed meeting these authors and illustrators. They all have a unique perspective to share about their process. Interviewing them was both a privilege and a delight.
Now, how fantastic is this to find two inspiring women here sharing more inspirational women??? Fantastic share from Norah. I love it! :) <3
Thank you so much, Debby. I very much appreciate your comment, particularly when it comes from another inspirational woman. :)
Aw, thanks Norah. :) x
Thank you so much for sharing my post, Christy. These talented writers and illustrators have produced some really wonderful books to read and enjoy! I am honoured to guest on your blog to inspire women. Thank you for inviting me.
I’m so pleased with the outpouring of support for you and the other amazing women in this post, Norah! Thank you for your beautiful guest post. It is truly my pleasure to have you here.
What a lovely comment, Christy. It was so nice to be here. Thank you. :)
BIG smile :)
BIGGER smile back. :)
Thanks so much for sharing, Marje.
Oh my! So much talent packed into this post. Well done, Christy!
There is a lot of talent, Jill. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Fascinating post.
Thank you, Mary. :)
Lots of information
Awesome post
Thank you for your generous comments.
Yeah sure
Love this piece! What wonderful authors & illustrators :)
I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post. Thank you.
It is inspiring to see that so many women have done well in their field – this is something I will show my daughter for sure. Thank you for sharing this Norah and Chrsty.
Thank you, Colline. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post.
Wonderful post, Norah! :) Sharing…
Thank you, Bette – appreciated. :)
Oh, this is marvelous, Christy. Very inspiring. Hugs.
I’m pleased you enjoyed the post, Teagan. Thank you for your encouraging comment.
Just love this post christy… it’s so important our kids have resources to help them explore life and experience their hearts desire… x much love to you x
Thanks so much, Barbara. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post.
Very inspiring and interesting post. I hope to write my own book (s) someday..
Thank you for your comment. Best wishes with your own book.
It’s always great to hear about successful women in any field, Christy, but especially in one near and dear to my heart. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Amy. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post.
Thank you, Christy, for sharing the inspirational post of so many talents authors and illustrators. Have a wonderful week. Best wishes, Linnea
Thank you, Linnea. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post.
Wonderful inspiring post thanks for sharing Christy. :)
Thank you for your support, Marje. Appreciated. :)