Mara Rockliff

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Mara Rockliff
Pen nameLewis B. Montgomery
Eleanor May
Nan Walker
OccupationWriter
Alma materBrown University
GenreChildren's literature
Picture books
Chapter books
Years active2004–present (as of 2023)
Notable awardsGolden Kite Award
Orbis Pictus Honor
Sibert Honor
Website
mararockliff.com

Mara Rockliff (born 1969 or 1970) is an American author of children's books specializing in works based on true stories.[1] 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.[2] The American Library Association selected her book Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott for a Sibert Honor.[3][4] She also received the Golden Kite Award for Me and Momma and Big John.[5]

Career[edit]

Editor[edit]

Rockliff began her career as an assistant editor for a textbook company in New York City.[6] This job involved research and many visits to the New York Public Library.[6] Later, she was a senior editor for Holt, Rinehart & Winston.[7]

Freelance writer[edit]

Eventually, Rockliff became a freelance writer for educational publishers.[6] 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.[8][9][10][11][12][13] The Mouse Math book, Albert the Muffin Maker, was the 2014 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Bronze Medalist for Alphabet/Counting.[14]

Rockliff also wrote the twelve books of the Milo and Jazz Mysteries chapter book series using the pen name Lewis B. Montgomery.[15][16] 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."[15] The second book in the series, The Case of the Poisoned Pig, was nominated for an Agatha Award.[15]

Author[edit]

Rockliff began publishing books under her name in 2005.[6][17] 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.[18][19][20] 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.[5][21] The Charlotte Zolotow Award is the highest honor for writing in children's picture books.[22] 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.[23][24]

Rockliff specializes in historical picture books for children, especially true stories about people who are not included in traditional histories.[1][25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28][29][30][31]

Rockliff enjoys baking and frequently incorporates baked goods or recipes in her books, testing the latter herself.[32][25] 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.[33][34] Rockliff learned of Ludwick in a 1964 magazine article about Pennsylvania Dutch cooking traditions.[25] 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."[25] 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.[3][4][35]

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.[36][37] 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.[38] Rockliff says, " I thought this story could do for math and measurement what Mesmerized did for the scientific method."[39] In addition, Rockliff was exploring the concept of misinformation through the lens of current events in 2020.[39]

Rockliff learned Esperanto and began using it daily to talk with people worldwide in 2014.[40] 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.[41][42] The book was selected as a Notable Picture Book by the Sydney Taylor Book Award.[41]

Rockliff considers herself a "research geek."[25] 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.[39] 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.[1] 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.[1][43][44] 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.[1][45]

Awards[edit]

Publications[edit]

As Mara Rockliff[edit]

  • Pieces of Another World. Arbordale Publishing, 2005. ISBN 9780976494324[17]
  • Next to an Ant. Rookie Readers, 2008. ISBN 0516268309
  • Get Real: What Kind of World Are YOU Buying? Running Press Kids, 2010. ISBN 9780762437450[54]
  • The Busiest Street in Town. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. ISBN 9780375985522[55][56]
  • Me and Momma and Big John. Candlewick, 2012. ISBN 9780763643591[23][24]
  • My Heart Will Not Sit Down. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. ISBN 9780375987281[19][18]
  • The Grudge Keeper. Peachtree, 2014. ISBN 9781682634776[57]
  • Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution. Clarion Books, 2015. ISBN 9780544130012[33]
  • Chik Chak Shabbat. Candlewick, 2016. ISBN 9780763688950[32][58]
  • Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic. Candlewick, 2016. ISBN 9780763668419[28]
  • Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France. Candlewick, 2017. ISBN 9780763695156[36]
  • Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong's Life in Jazz. Calkins Creek, 2017. ISBN 9781629795553[26]
  • Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Thrilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker. Chronicle Books, 2018. ISBN 9781452141343[27]
  • Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles. Candlewick, 2019. ISBN 9781536208368[30][59]
  • Billie Jean!: How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women's Sports. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books, 2019. ISBN 9780525517795[60]
  • Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope. Candlewick, 2019. ISBN 9780763688950[42]
  • Jefferson Measures a Moose. Candlewick, 2020. ISBN 9780763688950[38]
  • The Girl Who Could Fix Anything: Beatrice Shilling, World War II Engineer. Candlewick, 2021. ISBN 9781536212525[29]
  • Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat. Beach Lane Books, 2021. ISBN 9781534460072[1][44]
  • Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Random House Studio, 2022. ISBN 9781524720643 [61][62]
  • A Perfect Fit: How Lena "Lane" Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion. Clarion Books, 2022. ISBN 9780358125433[63]

As Lewis B. Montgomery[edit]

As Eleanor May[edit]

As Nan Walker[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Rockliff graduated from Brown University where she studied American history and literature.[6][80] She lives with her family in Pennsylvania.[25][6][16][81]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Castaneda, Vera (2021-04-02). "Children's book honors Frieda Caplan and the attitude that changed American pantries". Daily Pilot. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  2. ^ "Orbis Pictus Award® Winners 2015-2021" (PDF). The NCTE Orbis Pictus Award® for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  3. ^ a b c "Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2001-2023". TeachingBooks. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  4. ^ a b c "Reviews of the 2023 Sibert Award Winners". The Horn Book. January 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  5. ^ a b c "Past Golden Kite Recipients". Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Featured Alum: Mara Rockliff '91" (PDF). Brown Club of Eastern Pennsylvania Newsletter (3). Brown Alumni Association: 2–3. 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2023 – via Google Sites.
  7. ^ "FSU presents 35th annual Spring Festival of Children's Literature". Herald-Mail Media. March 12, 2017. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  8. ^ a b c 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.
  9. ^ a b 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.
  10. ^ a b Tormohlen, Anne L. “The Midnight Kid.” School Library Journal 53, no. 5 (May 2007): 110–11. via EBSCO, accessed July 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "Lewis B Montgomery". www.fantasticfiction.com. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  12. ^ a b "Albert Doubles the Fun". Kirkus Reviews. February 1, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c 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.
  14. ^ a b "2014 Winners". Moonbeam Awards. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  15. ^ a b c "Mara Rockliff". Highlights Foundation. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  16. ^ a b "Mara Rockliff". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  17. ^ a b 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.
  18. ^ a b "My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. January 2012. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  19. ^ a b 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.
  20. ^ a b "2013 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Winners". The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  21. ^ a b Peterson, Karyn M. (January 11, 2013). "Jacqueline Woodson's 'Each Kindness' Wins 2013 Charlotte Zolotow Award". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  22. ^ "Charlotte Zolotow Award". Cooperative Children's Book Center. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  23. ^ a b Paul, Pamela (2012-08-08). "New York Kids' Stories". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  24. ^ a b "Me and Momma and Big John by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. August 2012. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  25. ^ a b c d e f Lodge, Sally (December 9, 2014). "'Gingerbread for Liberty' Serves Up Slice of Revolutionary History". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  26. ^ a b "Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong's Life in Jazz by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. January 2017. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  27. ^ a b 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.
  28. ^ a b "Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. April 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  29. ^ a b "The Girl Who Could Fix Everything". Kirkus Reviews. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  30. ^ a b Schrefer, Eliot. "These election-year kids' books get our vote". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  31. ^ a b Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People: Supplement to Social Education. National Council for the Social Studies. 2017. p. 10.
  32. ^ a b BarbaraBietz (2014-10-07). "Welcome Mara Rockliff". Jewish Books For Kids…and more!. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  33. ^ a b "Gingerbread for Liberty! How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. January 2015. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  34. ^ Russo, Maria (2015-02-11). "Tales of the Founders". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  35. ^ "Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott". Kirkus Reviews. December 15, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  36. ^ a b "Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. February 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  37. ^ Lamy, Nicole (March 2, 2015). "The Short Stack: Picture Book Picks". The Boston Globe. pp. G2. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ a b "Jefferson Measures a Moose by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. August 2020. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  39. ^ a b c Bober, Tom (August 20, 2020). "Picture Books and Primary Sources: Interview with Mara Rockliff, Author of Jefferson Measures a Moose". Knowledge Quest: Journal of the American Association of School Librarians. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  40. ^ Rockliff, Mara (2019-03-19). "Learning How Language Works". Nerdy Book Club. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  41. ^ a b c "Sydney Taylor Book Awards" (PDF). The Association of Jewish Libraries. p. 8. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  42. ^ a b "Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope". Kirkus Reviews. December 22, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  43. ^ Bird, Betsy (January 18, 2021). "Just Try It: An Interview with Mara Rockliff". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  44. ^ a b "Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. January 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  45. ^ Gambino, Megan (December 10, 2021). "The Ten Best Children's Books of 2021". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  46. ^ "2005-2021 Green Earth Book Award Winners" (PDF). The Nature Generation. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  47. ^ "The Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award" (PDF). Westchester Library Association. 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  48. ^ "Past Winners". Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  49. ^ "NCTE Orbis Pictus Award: Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Past Winners 2010 - Present" (PDF). National Council of Teachers of English. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  50. ^ "2016 Notable Children's Books". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  51. ^ "Garden State Children's Book Award 2009 - 2013" (PDF). Old Bridge Library. 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  52. ^ Dekle, Deanne (May 11, 2018). "Land of Enchantment Book Award Winners for 2018". Hitchhiker. New Mexico State Library. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  53. ^ "Eureka Book Award Honors, 2021". Teaching Books. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  54. ^ "My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. January 2012. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  55. ^ Cohen, Rich (2009-11-06). "When Bulldozers Roamed the Earth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  56. ^ "The Busiest Street in Town by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. October 2012. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  57. ^ "The Grudge Keeper by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. April 2014. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  58. ^ "Chik Chak Shabbat by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. September 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  59. ^ "Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. August 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  60. ^ "Billie Jean! How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women's Sports by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. August 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  61. ^ Rosenstrach, Jenny (2022-01-28). "A Cooks Tour: 3 Picture Books About Famous Foodies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  62. ^ "Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. January 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  63. ^ "A Perfect Fit: How Lena "Lane" Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion by Mara Rockliff". Publishers Weekly. April 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  64. ^ a b c d e f 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.
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  73. ^ a b c 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.
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  77. ^ "Albert Starts School". Kirkus Reviews. May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
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