January 2008

New! Bonus Interview with Laurie Keller

Laurie Keller loved drawing and writing even when she was a kid but didn’t realize that “regular people” like her could grow up to become authors and illustrators. After high school she was deciding between a major in education or dance but after attending a senior exhibit at Kendall College of Art and Design, she enrolled there the following fall. Upon graduation she took a job as an illustrator with Hallmark Cards. While working there, she spent many lunch hours in a nearby children’s bookstore and developed a love for children’s books. She wrote her first book, The Scrambled States of America, and decided to pursue a career as a freelance artist and children’s book author and illustrator.

Read the Article

Additional Resources

• Meet the Author: Laurie Keller
  Hear Laurie Keller read from The Scrambled States of America
• Meet the Author: Laurie Keller
  Hear Laurie Keller read from Open Wide: Tooth School Inside
• Author Extensions: Laurie Keller
  “Name that State” map, “Name that State” list, and “State of Affairs” graphic organizer.
• The Golden Compass Library Lessons
  Capitalize on the excitement generated by the movie release.
• Curriculum Connections: Celebrate Your State!
  State Symbols worksheet.
• Keep ’em Reading: A Birthday Cake Is No Ordinary Cake
  Ten pages of patterns designed by the book’s author/illustrator Debra Frasier.
• Library Lessons: Successful State Mini-research
  Bibliography Template
• Library Lessons: Successful State Mini-research
  State Event worksheet
• Library Lessons: Successful State Mini-research
  State Person worksheet
• Library Lessons: Successful State Mini-research
  State Place worksheet
• Library Lessons: Successful State Mini-research
  State Symbol worksheet