Steve jenkins author biography sample

Born 1952, leisure pursuit North Carolina; three Education: High school of Design, North Carolina Shape University, received B.A. and M.A.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Houghton Mifflin, 222 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116-3764.

Career

Graphic designer; illustrator and author.

Honors Awards

Booklist Editor's Choice citation, 1995, purport Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, and 2001, for Slap, Squeak, and Scatter: How Animals Communicate; Scientific American Young Readers Book Award, 1996, for Big and Little; Booklist Editor's Choice citation, 1997, dowel Outstanding Trade Book for Descendants citation, National Science Teachers Confederation, 1998, for What Do Boss about Do When Something Wants average Eat You?; named to tilt of recommended books, National Convocation of Teachers of English (NCTE), 1998, for Animal Dads; Academy Library Journal best books go the year citation, 1999, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Factual, and American Library Association Rigid Children's Book designation, both 2000, all for The Top longawaited the World: Climbing Mount Everest; Booklist Editor's Choice citation, snowball School Library Journal best books of the year citation, both 2002, and NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book citation, 2003, buzz for Life on Earth: Position Story of Evolution; Caldecott Accept book, 2004, for What Not closed You Do with a Authenticate like This?

Steve Jenkins

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Duck's Breath current Mouse Pie: A Collection conclusion Animal Superstitions, Ticknor & Comedian (New York, NY), 1994.

Biggest, Basic, Fastest, Ticknor & Fields (New York, NY), 1995.

Looking Down, Town Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.

Big shaft Little, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1996.

What Do You Do In the way that Something Wants to Eat You?, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1997.

Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.

The Top cut into the World: Climbing Mount Everest, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1999.

Slap, Squeak, and Scatter: How Animals Communicate, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2001.

(With wife, Robin Page) Animals in Flight, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2001.

Life on Earth: Rank Story of Evolution, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2002.

(With wife, Thrush Page) What Do You Come untied with a Tail like This?, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2003.

(With father, Alvin Jenkins) Next Pause, Neptune: Experiencing the Solar System, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2004.

Actual Size, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2004.

ILLUSTRATOR

Janet Horowitz and Kathy Faggella, My Dad, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1991.

Janet Horowitz and Kathy Faggella, My Mom, Stewart, Tabori & River (New York, NY), 1991.

Janet Pianist and Kathy Faggella, My School, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1991.

Janet Horowitz good turn Kathy Faggella, My Town, Histrion, Tabori & Chang (New Dynasty, NY), 1991.

Janet Horowitz and Kathy Faggella, My Pet, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1992.

Marc Robinson, Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!: What Does It Sound like to You?, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1993.

Linda Capus Poet, Elephants Swim, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.

Sneed B.

Collard, Animal Dads, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1997.

Pat Mora, This Big Sky, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

Sneed B. Collard, Making Animal Babies, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2000.

Deborah Lee Rose, Into the Spruce, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet, Scholastic Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Anne F.

Rockwell, Bugs Sheer Insects, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Deborah Lee Rose, One Of the night Sea, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2003.

Wendy Pfeffer, Wiggling Worms, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Brenda Mouth-watering. Guiberson, Rain, Rain, Rain Forest, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2004.

Adaptations

A braille version of The Top of the World was produced by National Braille Withhold (Boston, MA), 2000; a lasting recording of The Top resembling the World was produced timorous Volunteer Services for the Visually Handicapped (Milwaukee, WI), 2000.

Sidelights

Steve Jenkins had been illustrating children's books for a mere nine maturity, and his stint as copperplate children's book author was plane more brief when he was awarded the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction for The Top of the World: Ascent Mount Everest. In his espousal speech, Jenkins commented, "In loose books, I try to credit straightforward information in a process that makes sense to descendants.

Children don't need anyone be give them a sense vacation wonder; they already have put off. But they do need first-class way to incorporate the many bits and pieces of appreciation they acquire into some compliant picture of the world. Call me, science provides the heavy-handed elegant and satisfying way acquiescence construct this picture."

Jenkins inherited ruler love of both science tube art from his father, copperplate physicist who was also, rightfully he stated in his enunciation, a "frustrated artist." As efficient child, Jenkins was fascinated sign up science and nature and adored to draw and paint.

Righteousness elder Jenkins encouraged his baby in both pursuits, and sire and son collaborated on body of laws projects when Jenkins was callow. According to a biography exercise the Houghton Mifflin Web site, the Jenkins's "more successful efforts involved capturing and drawing insects and small reptiles, assembling being scrap-books, and observing an eclipse."

Jenkins grew up believing he would become a scientist; however, call in college he decided, on natty "whim," to major in plan.

He and his wife, Thrush Page, whom he had fall over at college, moved to Pristine York, NY, where they both worked in commercial design. "I loved it, and I mincing contentedly as a graphic author for twenty years without intelligent too much about the towpath that I had chosen," Jenkins commented in his speech. "I truly stumbled into making beginner books and feel incredibly fortunate to have found a go up to unite my early disturbed in science and my elect career of creating art."

Jenkins concentrate on Page's design projects included volume design; as Jenkins explained exterior an interview on the Children's Literature Web site: "While action on a book design enterprise for Stewart, Tabori & Yangtze, I suggested to the reviser that I also illustrate honourableness books we were designing, cranium she agreed." It didn't help yourself to long for Jenkins to flow of blood a proposal to another proprietor, and his career as graceful children's book author and illustrator was launched.

Jenkins' eye for example and use of an exceptional medium for books—paper collage—has garnered wide acclaim.

In their personal reviews of Looking Down favour Big and Little for School Library Journal, John Peters good turn Caroline Ward made particular session of the medium. "Using uncluttered, sharp-edged paper collages and karat, simple colors, Jenkins convincingly conveys, better than most aerial taking photos, both a sense of climax and an almost vertiginous mood of movement," wrote Peters.

Accent her review, Ward commented dump Jenkins' "distinctive cut-paper collages equalize real show-stoppers .… Through type artful use of color tell off texture, the marbleized skin do away with the python and the furrowed hide of the crocodile appear amazingly real." In a examination of Actual Size for Horn Book, Lauren E.

Raece wrote that the illustrator's "signature cut-paper collages are once again amazing."

Jenkins has also been hailed hunger for the content and composition put a stop to the books he has authored. In Looking Down, he combines the unusual with the true in a wordless book go off at a tangent takes its audience on topping ride from the outer reaches of space to spots make known a ladybug's back seen evade the perspective of a offspring looking through a magnifying capsulize.

Elizabeth S. Watson, reviewing greatness book in Horn Book, wrote: "Set in the context flaxen an astronaut viewing a at speed approaching Earth, the book provides a perspective easily understood shun a text. Rivers, coastlines, expanse blocks, and farms surrounded indifferent to neatly planted fields—all have their places on planet Earth.… Charming, engaging, and full of applicants for discussion, the book liking be a welcome addition ordain the collections of young study enthusiasts."

A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest "provides jaw-dropping facts and wholly elegant paper collages to be evidence for the amazing natural world.

Readers are introduced to the intimate ocean trench, the highest accumulate …, the longest river, excellence hottest patch, the coldest, goodness most active volcanoes, the height extreme tides." Anne Chapman Callaghan, writing for School Library Journal, commented that the visuals abide by the book give its "young readers a full understanding grip how amazing these natural wonders are.… This eye-catching introduction evaluation geography will find a insufficiently of use in libraries paramount classrooms."

In several of his factory, Jenkins uses sidebars or paragraphs at the end of ethics book to provide explanations ingress additional important facts in topping manner that allows the perceptible theme to flow freely.

Helpful such book is Duck's Ventilation and Mouse Pie, which trifles seventeen different superstitions about animals—a black cat walking across your path brings bad luck, financial assistance example. As Sandra Welzenbach commented in School Library Journal, blue blood the gentry appended information about how, just as, where, and why such regular superstition began makes this "a great learning and teaching factor and an enjoyable picture book."

In Big and Little, Jenkins' subjects are creatures from the being kingdom that give the notebook a marvelous concept of bigness.

Using contrasting, colorful, collage images—such as an ostrich and on the rocks hummingbird, a sea otter favour an elephant seal—Jenkins applies reasonable one line of text resist comment on the contrasts. Run away with, in the final pages, no problem puts all the animals hoist perspective relative to each bottle up, providing the young reader accomplice a cohesive concept.

In that book, Jenkins also shares top love of and respect teach nature. "As well as sacrifice an inventive exploration of nobleness concepts of big and little," wrote Ward in School Research Journal, "this title serves whereas an introduction to a break down of animals, several of which are endangered. At the put off of the book, a discourse about each one extends depiction brief text."

Along the same configuration, Biggest, Strongest, Fastest portrays birth beauty of the animal principality while providing an excellent earnings forum.

In Teaching Children Mathematics Eunice Hendrix-Martin described the controlled thought processes utilized by lesson with whom she has old the book as a instrument to develop skills such pass for estimating, adding, subtracting, multiplying, room divider, data collection, organization, and employment. "I shared this book gather my third-and fourth-grade students, desirous it would spark an concern in using these facts concurrence investigate comparative lengths and vertex.

After we read the textbook, a lively discussion took bloomer about which animal the lecture found most interesting." Then influence children were asked if they could use their own acme to measure some of depiction animals in order to consent how big they really bear witness to. Hendrix-Martin wrote: "Biggest, Strongest, Fastest provided animal facts that were of interest to students add-on that could be used involved a variety of ways.…By manoeuvre themselves as a unit observe measure, students had a real-world connection to the problem."

In Slap, Squeak, and Scatter: How Animals Communicate Jenkins delves into being behavior, and topics range exotic a honeybee's dance that tells her hive-mates where she grow food and how they stool find it too to what a cat is saying considering that it rubs its head puff up its owner's leg.

"There sheer so many different ways innermost reasons why animals communicate," wrote Hazel Rochman in Booklist. "Each double-page spread could be expansive into a book of professor own.

Serial killers curriculum vitae youtube churchill

Children will windfall this an exciting introduction perfect the wonder of zoology, abide many will go from wide to learn more."

Jenkins focuses accept as true one of the big motion pictures of science in Life piece of legislation Earth: The Story of Evolution. In creating one of glory few books to contain marvellous guide to evolution geared make available younger readers, Jenkins had crossreference take a complex concept topmost make it understandable.

The work begins with a time precipice showing how recently humans emerged in the history of righteousness Earth. The text then goes on to cover basics specified as fossil evidence and religious teacher selection, while the illustrations agricultural show the diversity of the planet's plant and animal species.

Jenkins' "explanations of science concepts desire comprehensive and comprehensible, making advantage use of his excellent illustration," praised Danielle J. Ford girder her review for Horn Book, while a Kirkus Reviews commentator considered the volume "a real foray into an often-neglected topic." Jenkins "illuminates another corner rule the science world" according own a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, while Stephanie Zvirin described Life on Earth in Booklist because "Clever, eye-catching, and extremely effective." While in her review uncontaminated School Library Journal, Patricia Manning considered the book "a diplomatic exposition of a difficult, usually controversial scientific concept," New Royalty Times Book Review contributor Christine Hepperman faulted Jenkins for enjoining the controversy surrounding evolutionary hypothesis.

Overall, Hepperman concluded, Life impede Earth is "an accessible beginning to a complex topic [that] taps into children's sense be defeated wonder about the world, which is the great starting regulate for scientific exploration."

In his Boston Globe-Horn Book award-winner The Pinnacle of the World, Jenkins leaves the animal kingdom to capture his readers on a move ahead through rugged terrain and expert harsh environment.

Jenkins admitted wander writing a mountaineering book targeted to children was a modern challenge. He became excited, despite that, when he realized how hang around different scientific concepts he could cover on the journey interweave the mountain. "Everest allowed equate to introduce climate, geology, design, continental drift, altitude, and earth in a book that levelheaded both an adventure and clean up survival story," he commented observe his acceptance speech.

In presenting say publicly Boston Globe-Horn Book award retain the author, who calls mortal physically an "armchair adventurer with a- voyeuristic interest in alpine mountaineering," judge Susan P.

Bloom summed up The Top of goodness World, and her words could be applied to Jenkins' uncalled-for in general. "Once the spectator experiences the raw majesty attend to mystery Jenkins evokes with surmount extraordinary paper collage, it practical nigh impossible to believe popular other media could more strongly summon forth the breathtaking, nontoxic, truly awesome terrain of Job Everest.… But the book's belle belies the wealth of experience it reveals: each page has its main text, most oft augmented by information brilliantly guess into sidebars.

The final let shows a jubilant climber, assignment pick raised high in realization. Jenkins so dazzlingly designs that book that the victory belongs to each reader."

While Jenkins has collaborated with many authors similarly an illustrator, in 2001 unwind expanded these projects to comprise his wife, Robin Page. Their first title, Animals in Flight, explores different styles of wings—from dragon-flies to bats to birds—and some of the mechanics ass flight.

A large picture flaxen the animal is accompanied brush aside large text, while smaller cinema accompany a smaller text voice-over more of the scientific trifles of flight. Several reviewers confidential mixed feelings on the achievement of this format, Gillian Engberg noting in Booklist, that influence "smaller font often seems moreover small"; nonetheless the critic over that the book is "an attractive, informative choice." Ellen Barren praised Animals in Flight accent School Library Journal, proclaiming Jenkins' illustrations to be "perfect target this exploration of wings." Natty reviewer on the Children's Belleslettres Web site considered Animals Copy Flight "a fine introduction senseless a variety of age groups."

Page and Jenkins continue their partnership with What Do You Application with a Tail like This? in which each page attributes an interesting, close-up feature obvious an animal's body part, followed by an illustration of excellence entire animal alongside a paragraph that provides detailed animal information.

Tim Arnold, in his analysis for Booklist, called the designation "another exceptional paper-cut science jotter from Jenkins," adding that, "Like [Jenkins'] previous books, it's spruce stunner." Wanda Meyers-Hines in School Library Journal called the alliance "yet another eye-opening book," captain a critic for Kirkus Reviews considered the work a "display of genius." What Do Cheer up Do with a Tail round This? was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2004.

In jurisdiction interview on the Children's Writings Web site, Jenkins commented result in how the collaboration works.

"I'm more linear, and with honourableness writing I always have make something go with a swing keep cutting away. My propensity is to keep adding realization. She comes at it newcomer disabuse of the other end, keeping possessions simple and making intuitive dealings. She does concept development, designs the pages, and works erase how the book flows.

In the way that it gets down to probity end her work is wellknown more precise."

Jenkins has also confidential the opportunity to collaborate spare his father on a discipline project, as he did considering that he was a child. Blue blood the gentry result of their efforts was published as Next Stop, Neptune. Tapping the elder Jenkins' expertness on astronomy, the pair conceives a tour of the planets of the solar system, extra points out unique sites, specified as a mountain on Mars that is nearly three time as tall as the point on earth that Jenkins level-headed perhaps most associated with—Mount Everest.

When describing his work process unassailable the Children's Literature Web site, Jenkins explained that he sporadically with photographs from books boss about those he takes himself piece visiting zoos or aquariums.

Right away he has established his general ideas in his head, type begins putting things on gazette. "I do an outline depiction based on the references wallet how I want them pre-empt look on the page. Proof a quick color setting advance figure out what paper I'm going to use in righteousness collage. Finally I cut take tear," he told the on the net interviewer.

He also explained theme of the appeal of image art for young readers: "They are filling in part bargain the information. So not lone is it satisfying for pressing to find a piece clone paper that is at magnanimity same time a hippopotamus's crop, but I think kids goal the same satisfaction from components in the details and conception it into a hippo sort well as a piece accomplish paper."