Illinois Authors

In the spirit of such bedtime favorites as Emily Winfield Martin's Day Dreamers, here is a quintessential end-of-day by the beach lovingly captured and perfect for reading aloud.This simple, lyrical picture book is as warm, reassuring, and filled with joy as a vacation at the beach. Readers will join a little girl and her siblings as they wind down from a perfect day--hanging up towels, eating dinner, and getting ready for bed--each activity sparking a memory of their day--playing catch with the dog, chasing waves, and looking at sailboats along the shore. And when the lights of the family beach house go off--

Boyds Mills Press, Honesdale, Pa. : 2012.

Camille Claudel, the famous sculptor, has come to work at Madeleine’s family inn, far from the distractions of Paris. Madeleine, who has secret aspirations as an artist herself, is fascinated by this remote and somewhat unfriendly guest. Slowly the persistent girl and the secretive sculptor form a bond that leads to beautiful surprises for both artist and child. In this uplifting story, with charming illustrations by Robert Dunn, Natalie Ziarnik imagines how Madeleine Boyer, a real girl, became the inspiration for La Petite Châtelaine (The Little Lady), one of Camille Claudel’s finest creations.

American Library Association, Chicago : 2003.

In this revolutionary new book, expert liaison Natalie Reif Ziarnik draws on well-known children's literature and defining moments in history to expose the untapped potential that exists between schools and libraries. Using classic storytelling techniques, such as