Mara Rockliff – författare

On 17 July 1938, American pilot Douglas Corrigan took off from New York City’s Floyd Bennett Field for a long-haul trip. He had 320 gallons of fuel in a rickety Curtiss Robin airplane and a license to fly cross-country to California. But when he should have turned west for his route across America, Corrigan continued east. The following morning, he landed in Dublin, Ireland. Was it truly a mistake? Or the fulfilment of the dream of flying across the Atlantic?Award-winning author Mara Rockliff traces the improbable and singular story of Corrigan’s flight. From his early days as a pilot and aircraft mechanic–including time building Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis”–to the media frenzy that surrounded his “accidental” journey, Wrong Way Corrigan’s Wild Ride is a fast-paced, wildly entertaining account of the golden days of aviation and of the first (and only) pilot to fly across the Atlantic “by mistake.”

Signs of Hope is a picture book biography of groundbreaking artist, teacher, and Catholic nun Corita Kent from critically acclaimed author Mara Rockliff, with stunning full-color art from Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet.Let Corita teach you how to see the world in a whole new way!Sister Corita Kent, the “pop art nun,” burst onto the 1960s art scene with splashes of color and ad slogans transformed into messages of love, hope, peace, and justice. The art world would never be the same—and neither would the young people whose lives she changed.Join Corita’s students as they learn how to look at the world around them through an artist’s eyes. With Corita, work is play, imagination means adventure, and there is no line between life and art.Told with joy and energy by award-winning author Mara Rockliff and spectacularly illustrated by two-time Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, Signs of Hope brings a revolutionary artist’s teachings—still fresh, still inspiring—to a new generation. As Corita told her students, “Be ready to see what you haven’t seen before!”

An unexpected and wholly original fractured fairy tale by award-winning author Mara Rockliff, with a hilarious visual narrative from illustrator Gladys Jose—All at Once Upon a Time is a fantastic picture book read-aloud that will have listeners giggling ever after.Once upon a time(now, tell me if you’ve heard this one before)locked away up in a tower,lived a princess with the longest . . .NOSE?Fairy Tale Land has gotten a shake-up. All the stories are happening at once and . . . not exactly as they used to, once upon a time!Climbing a beanstalk takes an unexpected twist, Little Red Riding Hood’s basket is bursting with an unusual gift for an out-of-the-ordinary grandmother, and Rapunzel’s nose grows longer every time she tells another whopping fib!With a surprise on every page, readers will love trying to guess what happens next.

This true story of a woman whose brilliance and mechanical expertise helped Britain win World War II is sure to inspire STEM readers and fans of amazing women in history.Beatrice Shilling wasn’t quite like other children. She could make anything. She could fix anything. And when she took a thing apart, she put it back together better than before. When Beatrice left home to study engineering, she knew that as a girl she wouldn’t be quite like the other engineers – and she wasn’t. She was better. Still, it took hard work and perseverance to persuade the Royal Aircraft Establishment to give her a chance. But when World War II broke out and British fighter pilots took to the skies in a desperate struggle for survival against Hitler’s bombers, it was clearly time for new ideas. Could Beatrice solve an engine puzzle and help Britain win the war? American author Mara Rockliff and British illustrator Daniel Duncan team up for a fresh look at a turning point in modern history – and the role of a remarkable woman whose ingenuity, persistence, and way with a wrench (or spanner) made her quite unlike anyone else. An author’s note and a list of selective sources provide additional information for curious readers.