Shelley Tanaka
Encyclopedia
Shelley Tanaka is a Canadian editor of numerous award-winning young adult novels, an award-winning author of nonfiction for children, a translator and writing teacher.
, and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Toronto
. She lives in Ontario, Canada.
Tanaka began her editing career at Clarke Irwin. She has been the fiction editor at Groundwood Books, a Canadian children’s book publisher, since 1983 and has edited books by many Canadian writers, including Tim Wynne-Jones
, Deborah Ellis
, Martha Brooks, Sarah Ellis
and Alan Cumyn. She is the editor of thirteen Governor General’s Award winning books.
Shelley Tanaka writes nonfiction for children, including books in the I Was There series and A Day That Changed America series. She has won numerous awards for her writing, among them the Orbis Pictus Award
in 2009.
Her books have been translated into several languages: German, Danish, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Thai. Additionally, she has translated many children’s picture books
and novels from German
and French
into English
.
Tanaka teaches in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts
.
Biography
Shelley Tanaka was born in Toronto, Canada. She received an Honours Bachelor's degree in English and German from Queen's UniversityQueen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. She lives in Ontario, Canada.
Tanaka began her editing career at Clarke Irwin. She has been the fiction editor at Groundwood Books, a Canadian children’s book publisher, since 1983 and has edited books by many Canadian writers, including Tim Wynne-Jones
Tim Wynne-Jones
Tim Wynne-Jones is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.-Biography:Born...
, Deborah Ellis
Deborah Ellis
Deborah Ellis is a Canadian author. Born in Cochrane, Ontario, she had to move several times in her childhood due to her parents' work. Ellis decided to start writing when she was 11-12 years old. When she grew up, her work and writing was mainly done by traveling and talking to others that have...
, Martha Brooks, Sarah Ellis
Sarah Ellis (author)
This article is about the contemporary Canadian children's author. For the 19th Century English author of books about women, see Sarah Stickney Ellis.Sarah Ellis is a Canadian children's author and librarian...
and Alan Cumyn. She is the editor of thirteen Governor General’s Award winning books.
Shelley Tanaka writes nonfiction for children, including books in the I Was There series and A Day That Changed America series. She has won numerous awards for her writing, among them the Orbis Pictus Award
Orbis Pictus Award
The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the “writing of nonfiction for children.” It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book published the previous year...
in 2009.
Her books have been translated into several languages: German, Danish, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Thai. Additionally, she has translated many children’s picture books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and novels from German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Tanaka teaches in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts offers four distinct graduate programs, awarding Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Art, Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults and Graphic Design. The student to faculty ratio at VCFA is 4-to-1.. The faculty and alumni of VCFA have won many literary awards,...
.
Awards
- Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
: The Legend of the Lost Aviator won the Orbis Pictus AwardOrbis Pictus AwardThe Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the “writing of nonfiction for children.” It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book published the previous year...
in 2009. - Translation of Good for Nothing by Michel Noël was on the IBBY Honour List for translation in 2006.
- Secrets of the Mummies won the Science in Society Children's Book Award in 2000.
- Discovering the Iceman won the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 1997.
- On Board the Titanic won the Silver Birch Award in 1997.
- The Buried City of Pompei won the Information Book Award in 1997.
- On Board the Titanic won the Information Book Award in 1996.
- On Board the Titanic and The Buried City of Pompeii were finalists for the Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
.
Historical Events
- Earthquake! (2004)
- GettysburgBattle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
(2003) - D-DayD-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
(2003) - The AlamoAlamoThe Battle of the Alamo was a battle fought during the Texas Revolution.Alamo may also refer to:-Places:*Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas*Alamo, California*Alamo, Georgia*Alamo Township, Michigan*Alamo, Nevada*Alamo, New Mexico...
(2003) - Attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
(2001) - Lost Temple of the Aztecs (1998)
- The Buried City of PompeiiPompeiiThe city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
(1996) - On Board the Titanic (1996)
- The Disaster of the HindenburgLZ 129 HindenburgLZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume...
(1993
Biographies
- Amelia EarhartAmelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
: The Legend of the Lost Aviator (2008) - In the Time of Knights (2000)
- One More Border: The True Story of One Family’s Escape from War-Torn Europe, co-written with William KaplanWilliam KaplanWilliam Kaplan is a Canadian lawyer and writer.-Biography:William Kaplan is the son of Igor Kaplan and Cara Cherniak. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He went on to Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, where he graduated in 1983 with a...
(1998)
Arts
- Footnotes: Dancing the World's Best-Loved Ballets, co-written with Frank AugustynFrank AugustynFrank Joseph Augustyn, OC is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. He was artistic director of the Ottawa Ballet, from 1989–1994....
(2001)
Environment
- ClimateClimateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
Change (2006) - A Great Round Wonder: My Book of the World (1991)
- The Heat Is On: Facing Our Energy Problem (1991)
Archaeology
- Mummies: The Newest, Coolest & Creepiest from Around the World (2005)
- New Dinos (2003)
- Secrets of the Mummies (1999)
- Graveyards of the Dinosaurs (1998)
- Discovering the Iceman (1996)
Earlier Works
- Anne of Green GablesAnne of Green GablesAnne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
by L. M. Montgomery, adapted for young readers (1998) - The Illustrated Father Goose (1995)
- Mr. Dressup’s Birthday Party Book (1988)
- Mr. Dressup’s 50 More Things to Make and Do, written with Ernie CoombsErnie CoombsErnest "Ernie" Arthur Coombs, CM was a children's entertainer that starred in the Canadian television series Mr. Dressup....
(1984, 1991) - Mr. Dressup’s Things to Make and Do, written with Ernie CoombsErnie CoombsErnest "Ernie" Arthur Coombs, CM was a children's entertainer that starred in the Canadian television series Mr. Dressup....
(1982, 1991) - Michi’s New Year (1980)
Books Translated into English
- Definitely Not for Little Ones: Some Very Grimm Fairy TaleGrimm's Fairy TalesChildren's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
Comics by Rotraut Susanne Berner (2009) - Broken Memory by Élisabeth Combres (2009)
- Girl from Mars by Tamara BachTamara BachTamara Bach is a German writer.-Life:Tamara Bach was born in 1976 in Limburg an der Lahn and grew up in Ludwigshöhe, Rhineland-Palatinate. She was encouraged in her writing by her former German teacher, Peter Grosz. 1993 and 1995 she took part in the prestigious meeting of young writers to whom...
(2009) - True Friends: Tales from TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
by John Kilaka (2006) - Good for Nothing by Michel Nöel (2004)
- Secret of the Snow LeopardSnow LeopardThe snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
by Tenzing Norbu Lama (2004) - Himalaya by Tenzing Norbu Lama (2002)
- The Fire: An EthiopianEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
Folk Tale by Heinz Janisch (2002) - The Birthday Party by Michel Aubin (1987)
- The Secret Code by Michel Aubin (1987)
Interviews
- Ward, Barbara A. and Terrell A. Young. “Talking with Shelley Tanaka.” Booklist Online. June 2, 2009. http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3585132
Additional Resources
- Canadian Children's Book Centre. The Storymakers: Writing Children’s Books. Pembroke. 2000. ISBN 978-1551381084
- Gertridge, Allison. Meet Canadian Authors and Illustrators. Scholastic Canada. Revised edition 2002. ISBN 978-0439987806
- Rockman, Connie C., editor. Ninth Book of Junior Authors & Illustrators. New York: H.W. Wilson. 2004. ISBN 0-8242-1043-3.
External links
- Works by Shelley Tanaka in libraries. (WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
Catalog)