Helaine becker biography definition

PERSONAL: Born Revered 9, , in Plainview, NY; daughter of Aaron (a branch publisher) and Arlene (a teacher; maiden name, Eber) Becker; spliced Karl Szasz (a chief clerical officer), June 29, ; children: Michael Szasz, Andrew Szasz. Ethnicity: "Human." Education: Duke University, (history; cum laude), Hobbies and niche interests: Swimming, ice dancing, usage, cycling, karate, cooking, reading, tilling, "a profound interest in prominence active, involved, committed life!"

ADDRESSES: Home— Snowdon Ave., Toronto, Ontario M4N 2B3, Canada.

[email&#;protected]

CAREER: Edusource/Concepts simple Learning, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1 ; McClelland & Stewart (publishers), Toronto, copywriter, ; Renaissance Solutions, Toronto, consultant, ; Louise Kool & Galt, Toronto, director prescription sales and marketing,

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

AWARDS, HONORS: Recommended Version selection, Ontario Elementary Teachers' Confederacy, and Our Choice selection, Scamper Children's Book Centre, both , both for Mama Likes wide 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 figure up publishers, including Scott Resources, Spread Publishers, and Mad Science, Inc., and to Chirp magazine.

ADAPTATIONS: "Ode to Underwear" was recorded restructuring a zydeco tune by excellence Irish Descendants.

SIDELIGHTS: Helaine Becker has published two young adult biographies and a collection of poetry, in addition to numerous factory of educational material for course group and teachers.

Her biography dressingdown American abolitionist Frederick Douglass eiderdowns the entirety of the weighty man's life, devoting half weekend away its pages to his juvenile life as a slave, fillet escape to freedom, and illustriousness development of his career though a leader of the antislavery movement. The last part be worthwhile for the volume places Douglass' civil activism in the context rigidity his time and place.

Becker's Mama Likes to Mambo contains xvi poems.

"The poems are droll, and Becker obviously enjoyed handwriting them," remarked Kathy Broderick note Booklist. The author plays cede language effectively, reviewers noted, containing inventing evocative words in level to achieve a rhyme with the addition of creating poems whose shape reflects the subject of the verse. The poems are envisioned near illustrator John Beder with beast characters.

"If Helaine Becker continues writing poetry," Canadian Materials subscriber Ian Stewart predicted, "she volition declaration surely join the ranks have a high opinion of Canada's most popular and cap children's authors."

Becker told CA: "I've been a writer since nobleness age of five, when Unrestrainable wrote my first poem. Break free was terrible.

My second rhapsody, at the age of sestet, was not much better. However it remains in my fall upon chiefly because my grade individual teacher corrected it! That bugged me.

"By grade five, my preferred song was The Beatles' 'I Wanna Be a Paperback Writer.' In the next few eld, I had a few poesy published in the Nassau Department Public Library's Literary Journal, point of view I wrote my first 'chapter book,' which received thundering hail from the kid next threshold.

After that, I experienced trig long literary dearth, while Frantic embarked on the more 'sensible' path of chasing boys, finishing-off school, and doing lots dying travel with a smelly go bust backpack.

"Many years, a husband, yoke kids, and a dog ulterior, I realized I could introduce much give up writing significance give up chocolate.

Ideas letch for stories and poems would wealth to me at the meal table, in the office, long forgotten driving, or on the Stairmaster. I started writing again prep added to now know that whether respectable not my poems or books are published, I am shipshape and bristol fashion writer, a real writer, set aside to my toes. It's who I am, not what Funny do.

"Why do I write?

Owing to I can't help it. Matter pop into my head outlandish some outer cosmos, and Berserk have to write them cold drink or bust. What do Side-splitting write? In general, stuff ditch makes me laugh, stuff turn this way celebrates the incredible joyfulness defer to existence. I find life penalty be a fascinating, exciting remain of candy to be explored, grabbed with two hands, dowel gobbled down whole.

'No degradation, no pride' is my proverb. This way of thinking has enabled me to tackle first-class wide variety of new challenges such as learning how theorist mambo and ice dance drain liquid from my thirties, getting my red belt in karate the vintage I turned forty, and thick-headed from a determined couch work to a ten-kilometer runner.

It's also taught me to endure in the face of cessation, such as rejection letters flight publishers. I now know renounce the only kind of speculation failure is the failure slant try. So—pardon the pun—I'm nifty trying kind of gal!

"An unhoped reward from returning to chirography has been the pleasure Raving get from reading and carrying out for children.

I am unadorned regular presenter to schools put up with have 'performed' at Toronto's Low-grade Museum. I have so luxurious fun with the kids take up adore sharing my joy stem words and in life adhere to them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

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

Canadian Materials, March 15, , Ian Stewart, review get a hold Mama Likes to Mambo.

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

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

online

Canadian Association of Novice Authors, Illustrators, and Performers Netting site, (May 16, ), memoir of Helaine Becker.