Updated: Apr 19
The True Story of Pakistan's First Woman Architect
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Clarion Books
(Harper Collins)
Pub. 10.22.24
pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Marzieh Abbas
Illustrator: Hoda Hadadi
Character: Yasmeen Lari
Overview:
" From an inquisitive and compassionate young girl to a world-renowned and award-winning architect and humanitarian, Yasmeen Lari has an empowering and inspiring life story.
Learn about her success in a career dominated by men, her early work of advocating for and restoring historic buildings in Pakistan, and her turn to eco-friendly and sustainable design in the wake of natural disasters.
Starting in 2005, earthquakes and floods raised Lari's attention to the need for rehabilitation building. The pioneering architect met the challenge head-on. Incorporating innovative modern design and traditional building practices and materials, Lari developed a blueprint for sustainable, disaster-resistant homes."
Tantalizing taste:
"In between construction projects, Yasmeen explored old towns and villages with her husband, Suhail, a historian and photographer.
She toured.
She studied.
She noted.
She appreciated.
Her heart swelled with pride as she dug deeper into her roots."
And something more: Marzieh Abbas, shared in the Author's Note in Yasmeen Lari Green Architect: "Growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, I crossed a famous landmark, the Finance and Trade Centre, on my way to school every day. Little did I know that the building was deigned by Pakistan's first woman architect, Yasmeen Lari ... In the interviews I personally conducted with Yasmeen, and in the many that I viewed, Yasmeen was most passionate about her work for underserved communities."
- Apr 5
Updated: Apr 19
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."
