December 2007
Web Resources
Meet Greg & Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cynthia Leitich Smith grew up in the mid- to southwest, wrote poems as a kid and became a journalist in junior high school. She completed journalism school in Kansas and law school in Michigan. Cynthia is the author of Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (William Morrow and Company, 2000), Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001), Indian Shoes (HarperCollins, 2002), Tantalize (Candlewick Press, 2007), and numerous short stories. She also teaches at the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
Greg Leitich Smith grew up in Chicago, completed two engineering degrees—one in Illinois, the other in Texas, and went on to graduate from law school in Michigan. He is the author of Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (Little, Brown and Company, 2003), and Tofu and T. rex (Little, Brown and Company, 2005).
The Smiths met in law school and now make their home in Austin, Texas. Santa Knows, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman (Dutton, 2006) is their first joint book.
Additional Resources
- Weaving a Danish Christmas
Read Hans Christian Andersen stories and make woven paper hearts. - Library Lessons: Accessing Nonfiction
Making a Nonfiction Features Notebook. - Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! Library Lessons
Hanukkah Symbols and Hanukkah, Chanukah, or Hanukah? Reproducibles. - Author Extensions: Patricia C. McKissack
Six worksheets including an author trivia quiz, a title scavenger hunt, story recall and sequencing, and more! - In the Spotlight: It’s Hot and Cold in Miami
The bibliography.