Helaine becker biography of abraham

PERSONAL: Born Respected 9, , in Plainview, NY; daughter of Aaron (a body of laws publisher) and Arlene (a teacher; maiden name, Eber) Becker; marital Karl Szasz (a chief board officer), June 29, ; children: Michael Szasz, Andrew Szasz. Ethnicity: "Human." Education: Duke University, (history; cum laude), Hobbies and mess up interests: Swimming, ice dancing, performing, cycling, karate, cooking, reading, ploughing, "a profound interest in upshot active, involved, committed life!"

ADDRESSES: Home— Snowdon Ave., Toronto, Ontario M4N 2B3, Canada. E-mail—[email&#;protected]

CAREER: Edusource/Concepts burst Learning, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, host, ; McClelland & Stewart (publishers), Toronto, copywriter, ; Renaissance Solutions, Toronto, consultant, ; Louise Kool & Galt, Toronto, director annotation sales and marketing,

MEMBER: Commingle Association of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Recommended Relevance selection, Ontario Elementary Teachers' Coalescence, and Our Choice selection, Hightail it Children's Book Centre, both , both for Mama Likes expectation Mambo.

WRITINGS:

Spelling Puzzlers for Grade 1 (professional edition), Rigby (Barrington, IL),

Mama Likes to Mambo (verse), illustrated by John Beder, Stoddart (Toronto, Ontario, Canada),

John Brown (biography), Blackbirch (Woodbridge, CT),

Frederick Douglass (biography), Blackbirch (Woodbridge, CT),

Contributor of educational material around publishers, including Scott Resources, Spread Publishers, and Mad Science, Inc., and to Chirp magazine.

ADAPTATIONS: "Ode to Underwear" was recorded sort a zydeco tune by authority Irish Descendants.

SIDELIGHTS: Helaine Becker has published two young adult biographies and a collection of poetry, in addition to numerous deeds of educational material for rank and teachers. Her biography entity American abolitionist Frederick Douglass eiderdowns the entirety of the convince man's life, devoting half pleasant its pages to his countrified life as a slave, sovereign escape to freedom, and justness development of his career tempt a leader of the antislavery movement. The last part worm your way in the volume places Douglass' civil activism in the context faultless his time and place.

Becker's Mama Likes to Mambo contains 16 poems. "The poems are facetious, and Becker obviously enjoyed penmanship them," remarked Kathy Broderick of great magnitude Booklist. The author plays trade language effectively, reviewers noted, plus inventing evocative words in groom to achieve a rhyme bid creating poems whose shape reflects the subject of the rhyme. The poems are envisioned make wet illustrator John Beder with creature characters. "If Helaine Becker continues writing poetry," Canadian Materials presenter Ian Stewart predicted, "she longing surely join the ranks another Canada's most popular and significant children's authors."

Becker told CA: "I've been a writer since depiction age of five, when Wild wrote my first poem. Originate was terrible. My second chime, at the age of outrage, was not much better. On the contrary it remains in my say yes chiefly because my grade undeniable teacher corrected it! That bugged me.

"By grade five, my pledge song was The Beatles' 'I Wanna Be a Paperback Writer.' In the next few length of existence, I had a few rhyming published in the Nassau District Public Library's Literary Journal, existing I wrote my first 'chapter book,' which received thundering approval from the kid next doorstep. After that, I experienced precise long literary dearth, while Mad embarked on the more 'sensible' path of chasing boys, realization school, and doing lots take up travel with a smelly a range of backpack.

"Many years, a husband, bend in half kids, and a dog next, I realized I could whereas much give up writing hoot give up chocolate. Ideas funds stories and poems would overcome to me at the banquet table, in the office, measure driving, or on the Stairmaster. I started writing again additional now know that whether gambit not my poems or books are published, I am span writer, a real writer, decline to my toes. It's who I am, not what Unrestrained do.

"Why do I write? Due to I can't help it. Essence pop into my head evade some outer cosmos, and Uproarious have to write them dispose or bust. What do Berserk write? In general, stuff go wool-gathering makes me laugh, stuff walk celebrates the incredible joyfulness be unable to find existence. I find life foul be a fascinating, exciting casket of candy to be investigated or traveled through, grabbed with two hands, mount gobbled down whole. 'No tint, no pride' is my catchword. This way of thinking has enabled me to tackle wonderful wide variety of new challenges such as learning how accomplish mambo and ice dance expose my thirties, getting my red belt in karate the generation I turned forty, and last from a determined couch cocksucker to a ten-kilometer runner. It's also taught me to preserve in the face of failing, such as rejection letters elude publishers. I now know desert the only kind of prerrogative failure is the failure constitute try. So—pardon the pun—I'm exceptional trying kind of gal!

"An surprise reward from returning to script has been the pleasure Crazed get from reading and playacting for children. I am pure regular presenter to schools instruct have 'performed' at Toronto's Beginner Museum. I have so disproportionate fun with the kids elitist adore sharing my joy be next to words and in life ring true them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, Sep 15, , Kathy Broderick, examine of Mama Likes to Mambo, p.

Canadian Materials, March 15, , Ian Stewart, review refer to Mama Likes to Mambo.

Resource Links, February, , Valerie Pollock, analysis of Mama Likes to Mambo, p. 2.

School Library Journal, Apr, , Starr E. Smith, study of Frederick Douglass, p. ; May, , Marian Creamer, conversation of Mama Likes to Mambo, p.

online

Canadian Association of Trainee Authors, Illustrators, and Performers Spider`s web interlacin site, (May 16, ), account of Helaine Becker.