As we launch into our 10th Annual A4ED Season, we are happy to announce 2018 GREEN AUTHORs: Patricia Newman, Elissa Brent Weissman, and Linda Crotta Brennan. Donating to conservation through at least five annual Authors for Earth Day school visits, each of these generous participants is now recognized with the GREEN AUTHOR icon created by best-selling children’s illustrator Jim Paillot.
This humble but heartful honor was created to acknowledge the achievements of our most stalwart A4ED members—a way to let them know how much their mentorship matters and to applaud their success. And what success they’ve had!
Each of these GREEN AUTHORS is a hero in her own right, not only as an award-winning author whose books grace our bookshelves but as an inspiring leader for young readers everywhere:
Patricia Newman (www.patriciamnewman.com) has authored almost a dozen children’s books, including Plastic, Ahoy!, Sea Otter Heroes, and Eavesdropping on Elephants. Her titles have garnered a Green Earth Book Award and Sibert Honor, and been named and AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books finalist, NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year, Eureka! Gold, California Reading Association book, and Junior Library Guild Selection. Patti is a long-time member of Authors for Earth Day. In addition to her annual A4ED school visits, she served two years as our Eco-Book of the Month co-director, offering up personally selected books from her literary explorations. And in two essays for our A4ED Blog, she relates her discoveries writing books on renewable energy and plastic consumption.
Elissa Brent Weissman (www.ebweissman.com) is the author of several multi-award-winning middle grade books. Nerd Camp, which has now become a popular series, won a Cybils Award, a Sakura Medal Finalist and made the Maine Student Book Award master list. And her acclaimed novel The Length of a String has been described as “unforgettable and entirely satisfying.” Honored as one of CBS Baltimore’s Best Authors in Maryland, Elissa not only writes kid-friendly novels, shares her knowledge with students from child to adult through creative writing classes. As an educator, she has developed book-based resources for the classroom and enjoys visiting schools where she can connect with her readers. Elissa has participated in Authors for Earth Day every year since 2014. As a recent A4ED guest-blogger, she shared some interesting insight into her very first book, Standing for Socks.
Linda Crotta Brennan (www.lindacrottabrennan.com) has written over twenty books for young readers, as well as articles for Highlights for Children, Cricket, Smithsonian’s Click Magazine, and Ranger Rick. The year she joined Authors for Earth Day, 2013, her book When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story was named an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book and NSTA Notable Social Studies Trade Book. It also took the Green Book Award in History, Moonbeam Children’s Book Award Gold Medal and Green Book Festival Award in History. Holding a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and having worked as a preschool and elementary school teacher and a public library teen program coordinator, Linda’s passion for knowledge-sharing is clear. She is currently an instructor with the Institute of Children’s Literature, and we are grateful for her participation in our coalition and her contribution to our A4ED Blog.
Please help us acknowledge these amazing GREEN AUTHORS by visiting our A4ED Facebook Page and clicking LIKE on our January posts highlighting their generous contributions to kids and the environment.
Here’s wishing you all a prosperous and joyful New Year!