Mara Rockliff Explained

Mara Rockliff
Occupation:Writer
Genre:Children's literature
Picture books
Chapter books
Awards:Golden Kite Award
Orbis Pictus Honor
Sibert Honor
Years Active:2004–present (as of 2023)
Pseudonym:Lewis B. Montgomery
Eleanor May
Nan Walker
Alma Mater:Brown University

Mara Rockliff (born 1969 or 1970) is an American author of children's books specializing in works based on true stories. Her book Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France won an Orbis Pictus Honor from the National Council of Teachers of English.[1] The American Library Association selected her book Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott for a Sibert Honor. She also received the Golden Kite Award for Me and Momma and Big John.

Career

Editor

Rockliff began her career as an assistant editor for a textbook company in New York City.[2] This job involved research and many visits to the New York Public Library. Later, she was a senior editor for Holt, Rinehart & Winston.[3]

Freelance writer

Eventually, Rockliff became a freelance writer for educational publishers. Using the pen names Eleanor May and Nan Walker, she wrote books for several educational series, including Math Matters, Science Solves It!, Social Studies Connects and, most notably, the Mouse Math series which includes more than fifteen titles.[4] The Mouse Math book, Albert the Muffin Maker, was the 2014 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Bronze Medalist for Alphabet/Counting.

Rockliff also wrote the twelve books of the Milo and Jazz Mysteries chapter book series using the pen name Lewis B. Montgomery.[5] [6] Booklist selected her book, The Case of the Stinky Socks from the Milo and Jazz series, for “100 Best Children’s and YA Mysteries of the Past 10 Years." The second book in the series, The Case of the Poisoned Pig, was nominated for an Agatha Award.

Author

Rockliff began publishing books under her name in 2005. In 2013, she won an Honor from the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for her book My Heart Will Not Sit Down, a picture book about a girl in Cameroon who tries to raise money to help those who were starving in New York City during the Great Depression.[7] Her fourth book under the name Mara Rockliff, Me and Momma and Big John (2013), was nominated for the Charlotte Zolotow Award and won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The Charlotte Zolotow Award is the highest honor for writing in children's picture books.[8] The book is about an African American female stonecutter who helped build the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in the 1970s.[9]

Rockliff specializes in historical picture books for children, especially true stories about people who are not included in traditional histories.[10] [11] For example, she was inspired to write Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong's Life in Jazz when she realized female musicians were left out of the history of jazz music.[12] She has written books about the female magician Adelaide Herrmann, pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy Blaché, World War II engineer Beatrice Shilling, and suffragists Alice Burke and Nell Richardson.[13] [14]

Rockliff enjoys baking and frequently incorporates baked goods or recipes in her books, testing the latter herself. Her Gingerbread for Liberty (2016) is about Christopher Ludwick, a Philadelphia baker who was too old to fight in the Revolutionary War but supported General George Washington's army by baking bread for the troops.[15] [16] Rockliff learned of Ludwick in a 1964 magazine article about Pennsylvania Dutch cooking traditions. She says, "That grabbed me right away since it combined fun stuff for kids—sneaky secret agent, gingerbread—with fun historical stuff for parents and teachers. Also, I live in a very German part of Pennsylvania, and my daughter has Hessian ancestors on her father's side, so the topic had special interest to me." Rockliff's Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott (2023) is another food-related book, telling the story of a lesser-known Civil Rights activist who raised money for the Montgomery Bus Boycott by cooking and selling food.[17]

Other books by Rockwell share unusual facts about famous people. Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France (2017) tells how Benjamin Franklin used the scientific method to debunk the mysterious powers of Franz Mesmer's magic wand.[18] [19] A similar title, 2020's Jefferson Measures a Moose (2020) tells how Thomas Jefferson used math to counter misinformation in a book about animals of the United States.[20] Rockliff says, " I thought this story could do for math and measurement what Mesmerized did for the scientific method."[21] In addition, Rockliff was exploring the concept of misinformation through the lens of current events in 2020.

Rockliff learned Esperanto and began using it daily to talk with people worldwide in 2014.[22] This led to her writing Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope (2020), a book about L. L. Zamenhoff who invented the universal language of Esperanto.[23] The book was selected as a Notable Picture Book by the Sydney Taylor Book Award.

Rockliff considers herself a "research geek." She studies interviews, newspapers, oral histories, and primary source materials to create her books, and also includes a list of primary sources in her history books. She got the idea to write Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat (2021) when looking through the Jewish Women's Archive. As a Jewish woman, Rockliff felt it was important to write a book about a Jewish woman like Frieda Caplan, who founded a specialty produce company and introduced kiwis, baby carrots, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, spaghetti squash, and mangos to consumers in the United States.[24] [25] Rockliff worked with Caplan's daughter to create Try It! which was selected by Smithsonian magazine as one of the ten best children's books of 2021.[26]

Awards

Personal life

Rockliff graduated from Brown University where she studied American history and literature.[43] She lives with her family in Pennsylvania.[44]

Publications

As Mara Rockliff

As Lewis B. Montgomery

  1. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Stinky Socks . Kane Press . 2009 . 9781575652856 . 2. [62]
  2. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Poisoned Pig . Kane Press . 2009 . 9781575652863 . 2.
  3. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Haunted Haunted House . Kane Press . 2009 . 9781575652955 . 2.
  4. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Amazing Zelda . Kane Press . 2009 . 9781575652962 . 2.
  5. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the July 4th Jinx . Kane Press . 2010 . 9781575653082 . 2.
  6. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Missing Moose . Kane Press . 2011 . 9781575653228 . 2.
  7. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Purple Pool . Kane Press . 2011 . 9781575653426 . 2. [63]
  8. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk . Kane Press . 2012 . 9781575653914 . 2. [64]
  9. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Crooked Campaign . Kane Press . 2012 . 9781575654362 . 2. [65]
  10. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Superstar Scam . Kane Press . 2013 . 9781575655192 . 2. [66]
  11. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Locked Box . Kane Press . 2013 . 9781575656267 . 2. [67]
  12. Book: Montgomery, Lewis B. . The Case of the Buried Bones . Kane Press . 2014 . 9781575656410 . 2. [68]

As Eleanor May

As Nan Walker

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Orbis Pictus Award® Winners 2015-2021 . 2023-09-05 . The NCTE Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.
  2. 2011 . Featured Alum: Mara Rockliff '91 . Brown Club of Eastern Pennsylvania Newsletter . Brown Alumni Association . 3 . 2–3 . September 6, 2023 . Google Sites.
  3. Web site: March 12, 2017 . FSU presents 35th annual Spring Festival of Children's Literature . 2023-09-07 . Herald-Mail Media . en-US.
  4. Web site: Lewis B Montgomery . 2022-07-04 . www.fantasticfiction.com.
  5. Web site: 2016-12-05 . Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-04 . Highlights Foundation . en-US.
  6. Web site: Mara Rockliff . 2023-09-07 . Simon & Schuster . en.
  7. Web site: January 2012 . My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  8. Web site: Charlotte Zolotow Award . 2022-07-06 . Cooperative Children's Book Center . en-US.
  9. Web site: August 2012 . Me and Momma and Big John by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  10. Web site: Castaneda . Vera . 2021-04-02 . Children's book honors Frieda Caplan and the attitude that changed American pantries . 2022-07-04 . Daily Pilot . en-US.
  11. Web site: Lodge . Sally . December 9, 2014 . 'Gingerbread for Liberty' Serves Up Slice of Revolutionary History . 2022-03-18 . Publishers Weekly . en.
  12. Web site: January 2017 . Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong's Life in Jazz by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  13. Web site: April 2016 . Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  14. Web site: July 14, 2021 . The Girl Who Could Fix Everything . July 6, 2022 . Kirkus Reviews.
  15. Web site: January 2015 . Gingerbread for Liberty! How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  16. News: Russo . Maria . 2015-02-11 . Tales of the Founders . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-07-04 . 0362-4331.
  17. December 15, 2021 . Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott . Kirkus Reviews . August 22, 2023.
  18. Web site: February 2016 . Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  19. News: Lamy . Nicole . March 2, 2015 . The Short Stack: Picture Book Picks . G2 . The Boston Globe . July 6, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  20. Web site: August 2020 . Jefferson Measures a Moose by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  21. Web site: Bober . Tom . August 20, 2020 . Picture Books and Primary Sources: Interview with Mara Rockliff, Author of Jefferson Measures a Moose . July 6, 2022 . Knowledge Quest: Journal of the American Association of School Librarians.
  22. Web site: Rockliff . Mara . 2019-03-19 . Learning How Language Works . 2022-07-06 . Nerdy Book Club . en.
  23. Web site: December 22, 2018 . Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope . July 6, 2022 . Kirkus Reviews.
  24. Web site: Bird . Betsy . January 18, 2021 . Just Try It: An Interview with Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . School Library Journal . en-US.
  25. Web site: January 2021 . Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  26. Web site: Gambino . Megan . December 10, 2021 . The Ten Best Children's Books of 2021 . 2022-07-06 . Smithsonian Magazine . en.
  27. Web site: 2005-2021 Green Earth Book Award Winners . 2022-03-18 . The Nature Generation . en.
  28. Web site: 2013 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Winners . 2022-07-03 . The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
  29. Web site: Past Golden Kite Recipients . 2022-03-18 . Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators . en-US.
  30. Web site: Peterson . Karyn M. . January 11, 2013 . Jacqueline Woodson's 'Each Kindness' Wins 2013 Charlotte Zolotow Award . 2022-07-03 . School Library Journal.
  31. Web site: 2014 Winners . 2022-07-05 . Moonbeam Awards.
  32. Web site: 2021 . The Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award . 2022-07-06 . Westchester Library Association . en-US.
  33. Web site: Past Winners . 2022-03-18 . Bank Street College of Education . en-US.
  34. Web site: NCTE Orbis Pictus Award: Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Past Winners 2010 - Present . March 17, 2022 . National Council of Teachers of English.
  35. Web site: 2016-12-12 . 2016 Notable Children's Books . 2022-03-18 . Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) . en.
  36. Book: Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People: Supplement to Social Education . National Council for the Social Studies . 2017 . 10 . en.
  37. Web site: 2018 . Garden State Children's Book Award 2009 - 2013 . March 17, 2022 . Old Bridge Library.
  38. Web site: Dekle . Deanne . May 11, 2018 . Land of Enchantment Book Award Winners for 2018 . 2022-03-18 . Hitchhiker . New Mexico State Library . en-US.
  39. Web site: Sydney Taylor Book Awards . July 3, 2022 . The Association of Jewish Libraries . 8.
  40. Web site: Eureka Book Award Honors, 2021 . 2022-07-05 . Teaching Books.
  41. Web site: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2001-2023 . 2023-09-06 . TeachingBooks.
  42. Web site: January 30, 2023 . Reviews of the 2023 Sibert Award Winners . 2023-09-06 . The Horn Book.
  43. Web site: 2017-03-17 . 35th annual Spring Festival of Children's Literature set April 28, 29 . 2023-09-07 . The Cumberland Times-News . en.
  44. Web site: Mara Rockliff . 2023-09-07 . Astra Publishing House . en.
  45. Arnold, Tonya. "Pieces of Another World Mara Rockliff." Science and Children vol. 43 no. 5, Feb. 2006, p. 60. via EBSCOhost, accessed July 3, 2022.
  46. Web site: January 2012 . My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  47. News: Cohen . Rich . 2009-11-06 . When Bulldozers Roamed the Earth . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-07-04 . 0362-4331.
  48. Web site: October 2012 . The Busiest Street in Town by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  49. News: Paul . Pamela . 2012-08-08 . New York Kids' Stories . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-07-04 . 0362-4331.
  50. Saccardi, Marianne. "Rockliff, Mara. My Heart Will Not Sit Down." School Library Journal vol. 58 no. 2, Feb. 2012. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  51. Web site: April 2014 . The Grudge Keeper by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  52. Web site: BarbaraBietz . 2014-10-07 . Welcome Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Jewish Books For Kids…and more! . en-US.
  53. Web site: September 2016 . Chik Chak Shabbat by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  54. Magyarody, Katherine. "Rockliff, Mara. Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Thrilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker." School Library Journal vol. 64 no. 9, Sept. 2018. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  55. Web site: Schrefer . Eliot . These election-year kids' books get our vote . 2022-07-04 . USA TODAY . en-US.
  56. Web site: August 2019 . Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  57. Web site: August 2019 . Billie Jean! How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women's Sports by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  58. Web site: December 2020 . Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  59. News: Rosenstrach . Jenny . 2022-01-28 . A Cooks Tour: 3 Picture Books About Famous Foodies . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-07-04 . 0362-4331.
  60. Web site: January 2022 . Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  61. Web site: April 2022 . A Perfect Fit: How Lena "Lane" Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion by Mara Rockliff . 2022-07-06 . Publishers Weekly.
  62. Woller, Scott, and Cathy Retzer. "Mysteries and Emergent Readers it's elementary! Turn Readers on to the Thrill of Detective Work with the Engaging Milo and Jazz Mysteries Series." Book Links, vol. 20, no. 3, Mar. 2011, pp. 8–11. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  63. Engberg, Gillian. "Fall Youth Preview, 2011." Booklist, vol. 108, no. 1, Sept. 2011, pp. 129–42. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  64. Sawyer, Linda. "The Case of the Diamonds in the Desk." Booklist, vol. 108, no. 12, Feb. 2012, p. 54. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  65. Children’s Bookwatch (2012) ‘The Mystery/Suspense Shelf’, 1 August. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  66. Cooper, Ilene. "The Case of the Superstar Scam." Booklist, vol. 109, no. 17, May 2013, p. 45. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  67. “Children’s Books for Fall." Publishers Weekly, vol. 260, no. 28, July 2013, pp. 27–142. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  68. Cooper, Ilene. "The Case of the Buried Bones." Booklist, vol. 110, no. 17, May 2014, p. 57. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  69. Buckley, Carol. "Give the Gift of Books." Teaching Children Mathematics 15, no. 5 (2008): 314–314. via JSTOR, accessed July 3, 2022.
  70. Phelan, Carolyn. 2010. “The Best Mother’s Day Ever." Booklist 106 (12): 79. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  71. Corbin, Janene. “Albert’s Amazing Snail/The Mousier the Merrier/Albert Keeps Score." School Library Journal 58, no. 11 (November 2012): 80–81. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  72. Corbin, Janene. “Count Off, Squeak Scouts!/Albert’s Bigger Than Big Idea/Mice on Ice." School Library Journal 59, no. 6 (June 2013): 80. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  73. March 15, 2014 . Albert the Muffin-Maker . Kirkus Reviews.
  74. Web site: Eleanor May: A Mousy Mess . 2022-07-03 . School Library Journal.
  75. Web site: July 29, 2014 . Albert Adds Up . July 3, 2022 . Kirkus Reviews.
  76. Web site: May 12, 2015 . Albert Starts School . July 3, 2022 . Kirkus Reviews.
  77. “Mouse Math: Albert Helps Out." Children’s Bookwatch, March 1, 2017. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  78. Web site: February 1, 2017 . Albert Doubles the Fun . July 3, 2022 . Kirkus Reviews.
  79. Cady, J. A. (2011). "Review of Math Matters: The Yum Yum House. Grades 1-3, by N. Walker". Teaching Children Mathematics, 17(6), 380–381. via JSTOR, accessed July 3, 2022.
  80. McClendon, S. "Kulling, Monica & Nan Walker. The Messiest Room on the Planet." School Library Journal, vol. 55, no. 8, Aug. 2009. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  81. Web site: January 20, 2016 . Spork Out of Orbit . July 3, 2022 . Kirkus Reviews.
  82. Tormohlen, Anne L. "The Midnight Kid." School Library Journal 53, no. 5 (May 2007): 110–11. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.

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