- Apr 5
Updated: Apr 20
The Adventures of Cristina Zenato,
Underwater Ranger
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Millbrook Press
(pub. 4.1.2025)
32 pages
Ages 5 - 10
Author: Patricia Newman
Illustrator: Becca Hall
Character: Cristina Zenato
Overview:
" As a little girl, Cristina dreamed of making friends with the sharks deep in the ocean. When she grew up, she made those dreams come true, becoming a diver, conservationist, and shark advocate. But Cristina discovered that sharks―the sleek, strong, powerful guardians of the ocean―need our help. She started diving in a protective suit and, as she built trust with sharks, they began coming to her with fishing hooks stuck in their bodies. Did she have the courage to remove the hooks?"
Tantalizing taste:
"Down,
down
she dove,
wrapped in a chain suit for protection,
carrying mackerel treats to lure them closer.
A shiver of sharks silently loomed,
some inquisitive,
some bold,
some shy.
Cristina rewarded calm behavior
and slowly,
slowly
built trust."
And something more:
The Off the Hook section in Sharks Unhooked explains: "Although
sharks are strong enough to bite through the line and swim
away, the hook remains embedded in their fins, gills, mouths,
nostrils, or throats. Many sharks carry multiple hooks.
The carbon steel hooks that fishers prefer can remain
attached to a shark for an average of two and a half years
before they rust away. Stainless steel hooks remain in sharks
for at least seven years and possibly for the life of the shark.
Hooks stuck in a shark’s fins, gills, or mouth may interfere
with feeding, and hooks embedded inside sharks cause internal
bleeding or infection.
Cristina has removed more than three hundred hooks
from Caribbean reef, nurse, and blue sharks."
And in the Note from Cristina, she shares her experience,
"My dad taught me that 'there are no monsters in the sea,
only the ones we make up in our heads.'
I made it my lifetime goal to explore sharks, to educate
myself and others better about them, and to promote their
conservation.
Thirty years later, the tides somewhat favor sharks and
I am happy to say that I obtained their complete protection
at home in the Bahamas, where I have lived and worked as
an underwater explorer. There is still more work to do, so I
won’t stop because we need sharks more than they need us."
The Story of Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Abrams Books for Young Readers
(pub. 2.11.2025)
48 pages
Ages 6 - 9
Author: Susan Goldman Rubin
Illustrator: Susanna Chapman
Character: Clara Driscoll
Overview:
" In the mid-nineteenth century, most women who weren’t raising families became teachers or nurses. But Clara Driscoll longed to be an artist, drawing inspiration from nature: from every flower, weed, dragonfly, and even cobweb, on her family’s farm.
In 1888, Clara was hired at the renowned Tiffany Glass Company, where Mr. Louis Comfort Tiffany was known for creating gorgeous stained-glass windows for churches, theaters, and libraries. Impressed by her talent at choosing and cutting glass, Mr. Tiffany eventually put Clara in charge of her own staff of 35 women designers.
These “Tiffany Girls” sketched intricate patterns, chose dazzling colors and precise shapes, and carefully soldered and placed each piece of glass to create stunning lamps, murals, windows, vases, and clocks. Yet their names weren’t always credited on the finished pieces, and when Clara designed the “Wisteria” lamp that would become Tiffany Studios’ most famous, everyone assumed that Mr. Tiffany had designed it.
Today, Clara Driscoll‘s work lives on in museums, galleries, and private collections around the world. Dragonflies of Glass celebrates the innovation, determination, and ambition of the unsung women behind many of Tiffany Studios’ masterpieces."
Tantalizing taste:
"For another pattern, she remembered cobwebs and apple blossoms from the Ohio farm. City flowers inspired her too. In the spring, Clara thrilled at tulips blooming in the park, and she and her Tiffany Girls turned all her ideas into beautiful leaded glass lamps.
And something more: Susan Goldman Rubin, shared in the Author's Note: "For over one hundred years, Clara Driscoll's name remained unknown as the genius who designed Tiffany Studio's most beloved glass lamps, as well as their 'fancy goods.' Her name was revealed in 2005 when scholars discovered her letters to her family... Here was a woman artist I didn't know and a detective story all rolled into one!"
Susanna Chapman explained in the Artist's Note: "Clara Driscoll's beautiful glass designs are otherworldly to me, but I felt a close connection to her 'round robin' letters...I felt so strongly about this aspect of the story that I gave it a storyline all its own in the lower margins."
The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Clarion Books
(pub. 1.21.2025)
48 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Molly Golden
Illustrator: Paola Escobar
Character: Margery Williams
Overview:
"As a child, Margery Williams lost the father she adored and had to move to a city far away. She found solace visiting the animals in a wild and wonderful park near her new home, and in her toys—toys that became real to her. As an adult, she watched her children use their own imaginations to work through difficult times, and, inspired by their play, she wrote The Velveteen Rabbit."
Tantalizing taste:
"Margery's father gave her imagination all the room it needed to leap and soar.
Margery pulled big books off his shelves.
She traced wings, outlined paws, sketched ears.
As her scissors snipped, paper scraps fluttered to the floor.
Like magic! Animals played in the palm of her hand."
And something more: Molly Golden, shared in the Author's Note: "During the dark days of [World War I], Margery found fables, fairy tales, and poetry to be a source of hope. The stories and poems respected children's sorrow and embraced their joy. The writings gave Margery an appreciation of the timelessness of childhood."
