Celebrating Lynne Cherry and Betsy Maestro

I took a break before the start of the spring semester and headed north on the 5th. I returned to Richmond late last night (much later than expected thanks to airplane woes) and am now just catching up. Here are two important birthdays I missed while away.

January 5

Both Lynne Cherry and Betsy Maestro were born on this day. Betsy Maestro has written many nonfiction books that are illustrated by her husband. I find her works to be ones I constantly refer my students to, particularly Why Do Leaves Change Color?, The Story of the Statue of Liberty and A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution.

Lynne Cherry is also an author I use in my classes and environmental education workshops. I highly recommend the Meyer (2002) article Accuracy and Bias in Children’s Environmental Literature: A Look at Lynne Cherry’s Books, found in the The Social Studies, 93(6), 277-281 as a place to begin conversation about the value of these books. Books I use include:

• The Armadillo From Amarillo
  
• Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush
  
• The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest
  
• A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
  
• The Sea, The Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle
  
• The Shaman's Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest

Hats off and happy birthday to both of these fine authors.