Lynne Cherry
Encyclopedia
Lynne Cherry is an American writer and illustrator of nature-themed children's books and a film producer. In 2009 she was designated a Women's History Month
Honoree by the National Women's History Project
.
Born in Philadelphia, Cherry attended the Tyler School of Art
and Yale University
. She has served as director of the Center for Children's Environmental Literature, and has also been an artist-in-residence for the Princeton Environmental Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Smithsonian Institution
. One of her best-known books is The Great Kapok Tree
, a picture book about the Amazon rainforest
. Other books include Flute's Journey (a book about bird migration
) and A River Ran Wild (which discusses the cleanup of the Nashua River
in Massachusetts
).
Lynne has recently turned her attention to the climate crisis. She is founder and director of Young Voices on Climate Change. She has recently produced a series of films through her non-profit Young Voices on Climate Change specifically dedicated to helping the voices of environmentally-concerned young people be heard by featuring youth success stories in a series of DVDs. The short films show California kids getting a ban on plastic bags; Florida students saving their school $53,000 in energy costs; and Felix Finkbeiner, an 11-year old German boy planting a million trees (see Plant-for-the-Planet
initiative). Her most recent film, currently in production, features a girl in Maine who raised $200,000 to help save and clean oiled birds from oil spills.
Her recent book, How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate, written with Gary Braasch, has won more than 15 prestigious awards. It was honored with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) award for the Best Middle Grade Science Book of 2009.
During the summer of 2011 Lynne served as the Artist in Residence at Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts. Beginning in September 2011 Lynne became a visiting scholar at the Cary Institute in Millbrook, NY.
Women's History Month
Women's History Month is an annual declared month worldwide that highlights contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. March has been set aside as this month in the United Kingdom and in the United States...
Honoree by the National Women's History Project
National Women's History Project
The National Women's History Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. Based out of Santa Rosa, California since 1980, it was started by women's history activists Molly Murphy MacGregor, Mary Ruthsdotter, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett and Bette...
.
Born in Philadelphia, Cherry attended the Tyler School of Art
Tyler School of Art
The Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art, usually just referred to as Tyler School of Art is Temple University's school of art, which confers BFA and MFA degrees. The school was originally founded by sculptors Stella Elkins Tyler and Boris Blai on a separate 14-acre estate in Elkins Park...
and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. She has served as director of the Center for Children's Environmental Literature, and has also been an artist-in-residence for the Princeton Environmental Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. One of her best-known books is The Great Kapok Tree
The Great Kapok Tree
The Great Kapok Tree is an American children's picture book about rainforest conservation. It was written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry, and was originally published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1990. The book is dedicated to Chico Mendes, a Brazilian environmental activist who was murdered in...
, a picture book about the Amazon rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. Other books include Flute's Journey (a book about bird migration
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
) and A River Ran Wild (which discusses the cleanup of the Nashua River
Nashua River
The Nashua River, long, is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It is formed in eastern Worcester County, Massachusetts, by junction of its north and south branches near Lancaster, and flows generally north-northeast past Groton to join the...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
).
Lynne has recently turned her attention to the climate crisis. She is founder and director of Young Voices on Climate Change. She has recently produced a series of films through her non-profit Young Voices on Climate Change specifically dedicated to helping the voices of environmentally-concerned young people be heard by featuring youth success stories in a series of DVDs. The short films show California kids getting a ban on plastic bags; Florida students saving their school $53,000 in energy costs; and Felix Finkbeiner, an 11-year old German boy planting a million trees (see Plant-for-the-Planet
Plant-for-the-Planet
Plant-for-the-Planet is a children’s initiative that aims to raise awareness amongst children and adults about the issues of climate change and global justice...
initiative). Her most recent film, currently in production, features a girl in Maine who raised $200,000 to help save and clean oiled birds from oil spills.
Her recent book, How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate, written with Gary Braasch, has won more than 15 prestigious awards. It was honored with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) award for the Best Middle Grade Science Book of 2009.
During the summer of 2011 Lynne served as the Artist in Residence at Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts. Beginning in September 2011 Lynne became a visiting scholar at the Cary Institute in Millbrook, NY.