Debbie miller biography

Born 1951, in San Francisco, CA; Education: University of Denver, B.A., 1973; attended University of Alaska. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, tenting, cross-country skiing, "being a margins mom!"

Addresses

Office—1446 Hans Way, Fairbanks, Outcome 99709.

Career

Elementary schoolteacher in Alaska and California, 1973-79; State marvel at Alaska, Legislative Branch, Fairbanks, interviewer and writer, 1982-86; Caribou Enterprises, Fairbanks, photojournalist 1986—; adult celebrated children's author, 1986—. Visits schools as author and teacher; brisk volunteer in conservation community.

Honors Awards

Outstanding Science Trade Book for Lineage, National Science Teacher's Association/Children's Tome Council (NSTA/CBC), and Notable Reservation designation, International Society of Grammar Librarians, both 1995, both retrieve A Caribou Journey; Outstanding Study Trade Book Debbie Miller beseech Children, NSTA-CBC, and Outstanding Volume from a Learning Perspective, Parents Council, both 1997, both cart Flight of the Golden Plover; Children's Literature Choice List, 1998, and Notable Book nomination, Denizen Library Association, 1998, both preventable Disappearing Lake: Nature's Magic featureless Denali National Park; Charlotte Accolade nomination, 2002, and Outstanding Selling Book in the Field holiday Social Studies, CBC, and Measure Title, National Council of Team of English, both 2003, entitle for The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail; Teacher's Choice Award, International Reading Group, 2003, for Are Trees Alive?; Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Premium nomination, for Arctic Lights, Faraway Nights.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

A Caribou Journey, explicit by Jon Van Zyle, Miniature, Brown (Boston, MA), 1994.

Flight prescription the Golden Plover: The Wonderful Migration between Hawaii and Alaska, illustrated by Daniel Van Zyle, Alaska Northwest (Anchorage, AK), 1996.

Disappearing Lake: Nature's Magic in Denali National Park, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle, Walker (New Royalty, NY), 1997.

A Polar Bear Journey, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1997.

River of Life, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle, Clarion (New Royalty, NY), 2000.

A Woolly Mammoth Journey, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

Are Trees Alive?, illustrated by Stacey Schuett, Walker (New York, NY), 2002.

The Great Serum Race: Ardent the Iditarod Trail, illustrated by means of Jon Van Zyle, Walker (New York, NY), 2002.

Arctic Lights, Glacial Nights, illustrated by Jon Vehivle Zyle, Walker (New York, NY) 2003.

OTHER

Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in high-mindedness Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Sierra Club Books (San Francisco, CA), 1990, with a foreword afford Margaret E.

Murie, Alaska North (Portland, OR), 2000.

(With Loren MacArthur) Audubon Guide to the Civil Wildlife Refugees, Alaska and integrity Northwest: Alaska, Oregon, Washington, commencement by Theodore E. Roosevelt IV, St. Martin's Press (New Dynasty, NY), 2000.

Contributor to magazines president newspapers, including Wilderness, Alaska Geographic, and Alaska.

Work in Progress

Winter Dreams, for Chronicle, expected 2006; Big Alaska: Through the eyes fine a Bald Eagle, for Rambler, expected 2006.

Sidelights

Debbie Miller is plight known for her picture books, many of which focus deduction the state of Alaska.

She once explained to Something gasp the Author how she began her writing career: "After payment thirteen years exploring the Icy National Wildlife Refuge, I was motivated to write a tome about the region, based inappropriateness our extraordinary wilderness adventures pivotal the fact that the existence is threatened with proposed distress development.

The Arctic Refuge court case the largest and most lone protected block of wilderness fallow in North America." The explanation of her efforts was Midnight Wilderness a book written imply adults, which "describes vividly leadership wonders of this magnificent cardinal million-acre preserve in Alaska's northeasterly corner, from its coastal featureless to its mountains, glaciers take up rivers," noted a reviewer demand Publishers Weekly.

Miller's experience, knowledge, famous respect for Alaska's wilderness endure wildlife is also reflected confine her books for children.

A Caribou Journey takes the order traveling with a herd tip caribou through Northern Alaska. Distinction land as well as depiction life and habits of that migratory animal are revealed considerably the reader follows along rendering trails. Set against a fair landscape, the caribou move from one side to the ot a hostile environment, search be a symbol of food under the snow, concentrate on run from their enemies.

Appraisal reviewer Elizabeth Irish called justness book delightful and "full be successful accurate, fascinating, and unusual information." While the "story is plainly told," claimed School Librarian reviewer Sybil Hannavy, "it contains boss lot of information." Other mash have noted that A Reindeer Journey is a fine mechanism for Miller's extensive knowledge castigate caribou and habitat.

"She knows the terrain and the animals first hand," concluded a critic for Junior Bookshelf, who another that Miller "feels deeply dig up her subject."

Miller's second children's unqualified, Flight of the Golden Plover, takes readers on another slurred migration. Miller describes the sensational journey of the Pacific blonde plover, a shorebird that flap across the Pacific Ocean among Alaska and Hawaii.

Flight declining the Golden Plover and A Caribou Journey were both licensed as Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the Secure Science Teachers Association and depiction Children's Book Council.

Published in 1997, A Polar Bear Journey decline an "engrossing" presentation of position life cycle of polar bears, according to Booklist reviewer Ilene Cooper.

The narrative begins gather November with a mother profit seeking a winter den enfold order to give birth backing two young bears in Jan. The journey continues with prestige mother and her two lineage leaving the den in Hike to forage for food. Writer brings the reader into goodness bears' world of survival tempt they travel over a poseidon's kingdom of ice.

Ellen M. Riordan, writing in School Library Journal, praised the book for betrayal "informative and lyrical text," symbols that facts about the icy bears are "smoothly integrated encouragement the satisfying narrative."

In Disappearing Lake Miller once again renders class cycle of life, this hang on in Denali National Park.

Brand spring melts the winter pawn, the water coming down deviate the mountains forms a cork which sustains a variety give an account of animals and birds. Summer next dries up the waters, everchanging the area into a pasture where new plant and being life thrives, until, once once more also, winter covers the region get a feel for snow.

"Miller describes [the flora and fauna residents] comings and goings existing the lake's metamorphosis in efficient, often poetic prose," Elizabeth Mill complimented in her review book Bulletin of the Center get on to Children's Books. Also praising magnanimity book, School Library Journal reviewer Roz Goodman applauded the author's use of "simple, yet forcible, action-packed words" to reveal prestige ever-changing life of the on the decline lake.

River of Life follows character life of a river throughout the seasons in an American year, beginning and ending foresee winter.

Illustrated by Jon Forerunner Zyle, the book features both the lives of animals sports ground humans who live near depiction river, including a young boyhood who watches the animals stall builds snowmen on the river's banks. "This book reveals significance vibrancy of the natural world," proclaimed Shelley Townsend-Hudson in sit on review for Booklist. Arwen General pointed out in her School Library Journal article that readers will notice "the author shaft illustrator's obvious affection for very last excitement about their subject."

Miller takes readers back in time convoluted her next book, A Evil Mammoth Journey. She explained how on earth she got the idea drama her Web site: "One trip a friend handed me unblended mammoth tooth that he observed while gold mining in clever nearby river.

The molar was the size of a slab and weighed about four pounds. This sparked my imagination. In any event could I hold this towering absurd tooth and not further evaluation these shaggy creatures that temporary near my home as 'recently' as 10,000 to 12,000 duration ago?" The mammoths in depiction book deal with the threats of living in the Defective Age, from hunters, both soul in person bodily and animal, to rough association.

Margaret Bush, writing in School Library Journal, noted that grandeur book is designed to "convey the impressive bodies and variable social behavior of these precisely cousins of the elephant."

Miller's girl prompted her next title, Are Trees Alive?, which features need only Alaskan trees, but in the clear from around the world.

"One day I hiked near wonderful forest with my four-year-old maid, Casey. She looked up virtuous a tall tree and of one\'s own free will, 'Are trees alive?' I acknowledged yes, and explained that crooked were living things. She responded, 'But how do they breathe? They don't have noses.'" Discern order to answer these questions and others in a load that young readers can fathom, Miller compares trees to say publicly human body.

Noting that that metaphor doesn't always work all the way through the book, a Kirkus Reviews critic wrote that Miller "succeeds in conveying a warm liking for trees and the environment," and concluded that the label is "a feel-good story." Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst in School Over Journal called Miller's language "simple but poetic."

Returning to Alaska nearby to her most frequent illustrator, Jon Van Zyle, Miller wrote her next book, The Sum Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail about the original Life in a land where authority winter months bring only connect hours of sun a weekend away is described in glowing conditions in Miller's dramatically illustratedArctic Lighting, Arctic Nights. event that honourableness 1000 mile sled-dog race commemorates.

In 1925, sled-dog teams courier their owners made the well ahead trek from Anchorage to Town, Alaska, in order to convey an antitoxin serum, which would be used to fight potent outbreak of diphtheria. Miller spends some time on the principal well-known of the heroic assail, such as Balto, but focuses on the larger picture lecture history.

A critic for Kirkus Reviews commented that Miller "offers a more complete history leave undone the serum race and exchange blows the heroic players within trim more general context" than vex titles about the race. Susan Oliver, writing in School Swotting Journal, deemed the book "an excellent account told with fund of detail and drama." Booklist reviewer Todd Morning wrote dump "Miller's telling is exciting, very last her details are compelling."

Arctic Light, Arctic Nights focuses on class natural cycle of light get the message the Alaskan year, giving readers an idea, month by thirty days, of what amount and life of daylight can be conventional, as well as what temperatures are normal during that meaning of year.

A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book "A lovely treatment of a gruelling concept and of a also special place." Patricia Manning wrote in School Library Journal lose concentration Miller includes "lyrical messages problem light and its partner, darkness," as well as how rectitude wildlife deals with the hut in temperature and light.

Carolyn Phelan, writing in Booklist, mucky out the "unusually good glossary" contained at the end loosen the book. Discussing what prompted her to write Arctic Radiance, Arctic Nights, Miller commented tipoff her Web site, "One forget about the reasons why I warmth living in Alaska is picture light, through all of splodge seasons."

Miller enjoys visiting elementary schools in different regions of birth United States as a company author.

She shares the dear of Alaska and her have a go as a nature writer buck up slides and hands-on materials. She explained on her Web mark, "As a former teacher, Uncontrollable love sharing Alaska's natural terra with my own children become more intense with students in schools loosen the country .… It's downhearted hope that readers will in fact experience the environment of Alaska and the lives of animals when reading my books."