Kathleen Kudlinski – författare

Art Encounters brings the work of famous artists to life through thrilling and evocative stories that reflect the individual paintings featured. This new series of historical fiction introduces young readers to the styles, methods, techniques, and influences of great painters.History and fiction merge in this uplifting novel about a boy whose artistic talent awaits a great mind to uncover it. A child of the Depression, Parker begins his relationship with O''Keeffe by stealing her property, notably a camera. She is prepared to let him rot in jail when she develops the photos he has taken with the stolen camera and recognizes the boy''s raw ability. Set against the backdrop of New Mexico''s stark beauty, Parker''s struggle to find his artistic vision clashes with O''Keeffe''s fierce independence and private nature. Parker tries to connect with his surroundings through the use of a camera, while O''Keeffe uses it as an aid for finding points of view otherwise difficult to obtain. This book is a literary interpretation of O''Keeffe''s painting Ram''s Skull with Brown Leaves, as well as an intimate look at the artist''s fame, her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz, and her creative process.Georgia O''Keeffe in New MexicoGeorgia O''Keeffe''s single greatest inspiration was the New Mexican desert. She went "half mad with love for the place." There O''Keeffe collected the dry, white animal bones scattered over the desert, and painted her first "bone" paintings, including Ram''s Skull with Brown Leaves.After 1934, she returned to New Mexico every summer, moving there permanently after the death of her husband, the art impresario Alfred Stieglitz.When O''Keeffe visited the Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, she knew immediately that she wanted to live there. Later, she bought and restored an abandoned hacienda nearby. Although failing eyesight forced her to stop painting with oil in the 70''s, she continued to use pencil and watercolor. Active long into her later years, O''Keeffe died in 1986 at the age of 98.• For readers ages 12 and up• The first book in the new Art Encounters series• The story is based around O''Keeffe''s painting Ram''s Skull with Brown Leaves (Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM)• Georgia O''Keeffe is one of the top five most studied artists in American schoolsFrom the Hardcover edition.

CHILDHOOD OF WORLD FIGURES Christopher Columbus was born in Italy in 1451. His father was a weaver, but like most young men living near a seaport, Columbus looked to the sea to find his calling. In 1477, after serving as a messenger and sailor on many ships, Columbus settled in Portugal. It was there he first tried to gain support for his dream of reaching Asia by sailing west. It wasn't until nearly fifteen years later that Columbus gained support from Spain and set out on the momentous expedition that landed him in the Americas in 1492. Christopher Columbus is considered one of the world's most famous explorers. This fascinating biography details Columbus's childhood, which shaped his adventurous spirit.

The man we remember simply as Gandhi was born Mohandas Gandhi in India in 1869. From an early age he was made keenly aware of the rigid Hindu caste system of his country, and was heavily influenced by his mother's ability to fast as a way to control her urges. Mohandas was married at the age of thirteen and continued his education, though he struggled as a student. He also struggled to find himself and to keep his moral center intact. At college in London, and then later at work in South Africa and India, Gandhi was appalled at the abject poverty he discovered and by the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights he encountered. He ultimately dedicated his life to the struggle for fundamental human rights for all Indians. Read all about the fascinating early years and eventual accomplishments of this inspiring leader.

One of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictionalized biographies -- easily read by children of eight and up -- today''s youngster is swept right into history.

Learn about the childhood of Rosa Parks, who grew up to be a legendary Civil Rights activist and an all-star in American history.Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 spurred a citywide boycott. As she became a symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement, eventually the city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the Presidential of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the NAACP’s highest award. In this narrative biography you’ll learn about Rosa Parks’s childhood and the influences that gave this remarkable woman the courage to stand up for her rights.

Childhood of Famous Americans One of the most popular series ever published for young Americans, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictionalized biographies -- easily read by children of eight and up -- today''s youngster is swept right into history.

What do you do when you don''t have a home or a family to call your own anymore? Eleven-year-old Abigail is not entirely sure how she''ll find it, but after losing her mother to smallpox and her father to the sea, she knows that it is up to her to build a new life for herself and her little brother, Seth. But carving a future out of the harsh realities of life in Wiscasset, a nineteenth-century Maine seaport, proves difficult, and Abigail fears that there will always be more questions than answers. How long will they be able to stay and work for the young Widow Chase? Will Seth be able to let go of the past? As the months roll by like waves on the sea, Abigail searches tirelessly for a solution and for an answer to the question she holds most dear: Will they ever find a place to call home again?

A childhood biography of the great political and social leader.Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) studied law in England, then spent 20 years defending the rights of immigrants in South Africa. In 1914 he returned to India and became the leader of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi urged non-violence and civil disobedience as a means to independence from Great Britain, with public acts of defiance that landed him in jail several times. In 1947 he participated in the postwar negotiations that led to Indian independence. He was shot to death by a Hindu fanatic in 1948.      This childhood biography highlights the events that informed Gandhi''s indomitable spirit.