Sherry Shahan
Sherry Shahan has 30 fiction and nonfiction children's books to her credit, including the new August House release Cool Cats Counting (illustrated by Paula Barragan) a burst of color and rhythm to introduce young readers to animal and numbers in English and Spanish.
In her first August House work, Spicy Hot Colors (illustrated by Paula Barragan) young readers learn colors in Spanish, employing similes rooted in Latin American culture. Kirkus praised the picture book in their review, "Successful both as an introduction to Latin American culture for children unfamiliar with it and as a celebration for those who call it their own."
Shahan has been a presenter at professional conferences, such as California Reading Assn., California School Library Assn., California Teachers of English, and has taught workshops in writing for children at Palm Springs Writers Conference, Cuesta College Writers Conference, WIN-WIN Writer's Conference, California Writers Club, Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators and others.
Some of her other books include: Death Mountain (Peachtree, Fall '05), an adventure novel for middle grade readers. Based on a personal experience, her group was caught in a deadly electrical storm. The horse and mule were struck and killed; three people were airlifted off the mountain by helicopter.
What sets this story apart from other adventure novels is that the two main characters are girls, who are forced to face the challenges of being lost in the untamed wilderness with grit and resourcefulness. In the process they learn about themselves and develop a lasting friendship.
Shahan's Alaska-based adventure novel for middle grade readers, Frozen Stiff (Delacorte Press, Yearling) is also based on a personal experience: a week camping on the shores of a remote wilderness area in Alaska and kayaking to the largest tidewater glacier in North America. Like the
heroine in her story, she battled renegade icebergs and had an encounter with a bear.
Frozen Stiff has been used in the classroom as a companion for Call of the Wild and Julie books and has been on several state reading lists, including Battle of the Books for California, 2003-04.
Willie Covan Loved To Dance! (Mondo Pub.) is the true story of one spirited tap dancer who performed in Wild West Saloons, minstrel shows, and vaudeville. With his one-of-a-kind style, Willie danced across social and racial barriers into history.
Thousands of elementary and middle-school teachers across the country have incorporated the Iditarod into literature, history, and/or social studies units. Dashing Through The Snow: The Story of the Jr. Iditarod (Mondo Pub.), an American Booksellers "Pick of the List", was added to the California Collection.
As a photo-journalist, Ms. Shahan has ridden horseback in Africa's Masailand, hiked a leech-infested rain forest in Australia, and ridden in a dogsled for the first part of the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. A serious dance student, she has traveled to Cuba to study Latin-African styles of movement. When not on an exciting assignment, Ms. Shahan visits schools and libraries around the country.
See all titles by Sherry Shahan.
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