Patricia Hruby Powell
Born: in Arlington Heights, Illinois
Pen Name: None Connection to Illinois: Powell was born and raised in Arlington Heights. She currently resides in Champaign. Biography: Patricia Hruby Powell is an author, storyteller and dancer. She has graduated from London School of Contemporary Dance, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a BFA in Dance, Temple University in Philadelphia with an MFA in Dance and the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a MS in Library and Information Science. As a dancer/choreographer, Powell worked in London, Winnipeg, and New York City. She has also traveled over North and South America, Europe and the Caribbean with her own dance company ONE PLUS ONE. Powell uses her dance experience to accentuate her presentations and storytelling along with worldwide percussion instruments and animal sounds. She has also worked as a lithographer (printing from large stone slabs), trapeze artist, ballet teacher, modern dance teacher, composition teacher, mime and a substitute librarian. Her first book, ''Blossom Tales: Flower Stories of Many Folk'', is a beautifully illustrated collection of fourteen retold folktales from around the world, each one about a flower. Her books, ''Zinnia'' and ''Frog Brings Rain'', are bilingual Navajo/English picture books.
Awards:
- Frog Brings Rain Spur Storyteller Finalist Award, 2007 Aesop Accolade Award, American Folklore Society, 2006
- Zinnia Land of Enchantment Book, 2006-07
- Josephine NPR Best Books of the Year List, 2014 Boston Globe Horn Book Nonfiction Honor, 2014 Parents Choice Gold Award for Poetry, 2014 International Bologna/Ragazzi Nonfiction Honor, 2014 Junior Library Guild Selection, 2014 Huffington Post Best Picture Book of the Year, Biography (artist), 2014 Wall Street Journal's 10 Best Children's Books of the Year List, 2014 Best Picture Books of 2014 2016 Illinois Reads Book Selection, Illinois Reading Council
- Loving vs Virginia Junior Library Guild Selection 2017 Winter Kids’ Indie Next List Pick, Teen Readers Arnold Adoff Poetry Award Honor Audie Award for History/Biography 20182018 CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2018 NCTE Notable Children’s Books in Language Arts 2018 International Literacy Association (ILA) Young Adult Choices2017 Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Romances of the Year2018 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee2018 Texas Tayshas Reading List Top Ten2018 Kansas NEA Reading Circle Catalog Eureka Nonfiction Children’s Book Awards 2017Great Lakes Great Books Reading List 2018-192017 Winter Okra Picks from Southern Independent Book Stores (SIBA) Amazon Best YA Books of the Month, February 2017100 Best Children’s Books for Black History Month10 new children’s books for Black History Month Alexander Prew Library Media Center Pick of the Week7 Books That Will Inspire You to #ResistAfrican American Literature Book Club Best Seller List African American Literature Book Club Best Seller List African American Literature Book Club Best Seller List King County, Washington Best Teen Books of 2017Nerdy Book Club Best Poetry and Novels-in-Verse List 2017 Buzzfeed Books to Read to Escape the Freeze Capitol Choices 2018 – Category: 10-14WSRA Just One More Page! 2018 Nominees – Category: YATeenReads ListCommon Sense Media List Barnes & Noble List A Word Edgewise recommended middle grade books in verse List Learning History Through Story List A Mighty Girl List 50 Must-Read Books For Sixth Graders – Bored Teachers List 2019-2020 Virginia Readers’ Choice Lists Starred Review, Kirkus Starred Review, Booklist
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patriciahruby.powell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=74799769
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rootatootoot
Web: http://www.talesforallages.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJg1kM89O5LF4OHPzig-Iw
Selected Titles
 |
Blossom Tales: Flower Stories of Many Folk ISBN: 0967792983 OCLC: 47965386 Moon Mountain Pub., North Kingstown, R.I. : 2002. A collection of fourteen folk tales about flowers from many different cultures. |
 |
Frog Brings Rain ISBN: 1893354083 OCLC: 58526343 Salina Bookshelf, Flagstaff, Ariz. : ©2006. As fire creeps toward the village of the First People, First Man and First Woman must find a way to quench the flames. First Woman asks the Bird People, the River People, and the Water People for assistance, but everyone she speaks to has an excuse. Not me, said Mockingbird. The smoke would hurt my voice and I would never sing again. Not me, said Snail. I carry my house with me and I am slow. No, said Beaver. We would like to help, but our river home would become a desert if we changed the flow of water. At last, First Woman asks the mysterious Frog for help. Will he be able to stop the flames before they reach the village? Author Patricia Hruby Powell's retelling of this Navajo folktale is as graceful as it is compelling, and as magical as the mythical time it describes. Enter the village of the First People and become a part of the time when the world was new. |
 |
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker ISBN: 9781452103143 OCLC: 808627968 A portrait of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself. |
 |
Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker ISBN: 1534406239 OCLC: 1007502075 Learn about the civil rights activist Ella Baker in this inspiring picture book from Sibert Honor winner Patricia Hruby Powell and Caldecott Honor winner R. Gregory Christie. “What do you hope to accomplish?” asked Ella Baker’s granddaddy when she was still a child. Her mother provided the answer: “Lift as you climb.” Long before the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, Ella Baker worked to lift others up by fighting racial injustice and empowering poor African Americans to stand up for their rights. Her dedication and grassroots work in many communities made her a valuable ally for leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and she has been ranked as one of the most influential women in the civil rights movement. In the 1960s she worked to register voters and organize sit-ins, and she became a teacher and mentor to many young activists. Caldecott Honor winner R. Gregory Christie’s powerful pictures pair with Patricia Hruby Powell’s poignant words to paint a vivid portrait of the fight for the freedom of the human spirit. |
 |
Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case ISBN: 1452125902 OCLC: 914256675 Written in blank verse, the story of Mildred Loving, an African American girl, and Richard Loving, a Caucasian boy, who challenge the Virginia law forbidding interracial marriages in the 1950s. |
 |
Struttin' with Some Barbecue: Lil Hardin Armstrong Becomes the First Lady of Jazz ISBN: 9781580897402 OCLC: 993623869 This is the true story of Lil Hardin Armstrong: pianist, composer, and bandleader in the early days of jazz. Ahead of her time, Lil made a career for herself--and for Louis Armstrong, her modest, unassuming husband ... Scat-inspired verse celebrates how Lil overcame race and gender barriers to become the first lady of the Chicago jazz scene--Publisher marketing. |
 |
Zinnia: How the Corn Was Saved ISBN: 1893354385 OCLC: 53130869 Salina Bookshelf, Flagstaff, Ariz. : ©2003. A retelling of the Indian legend which explains why the Navajo always plant a scattering of zinnia flowers among their food crops and respect every spider. |