Margriet Ruurs – författare

A fascinating look - in maps and stories - at neighbourhoods around the world! This unique illustrated map book explores the neighbourhoods of 16 real children from around the world. Each child's story highlights what's important to them in their community, from their homes and schools to the places they play and the sights and sounds they encounter every day. Whether it's a big city, such as Amsterdam or Beijing, or a small community, such as Salt Spring Island in Canada or the village of Komanyana in Zambia, these places are special to the children who live there!

Author Margriet Ruurs begins this engaging informational picture book by posing an intriguing question: 'What is a school? Is it a building with classrooms? Or can it be any place where children learn?' The fascinating stories that follow will expand how young readers think of school, as they learn about the experiences of real children in thirteen different countries around the world. From Marta in Azezo, Ethiopia, and Luciano in M©rida, Venezuela, to Alina in Taraz, Kazakhstan, and Lu in Shanghai, China, the children who are profiled live in places that truly span the globe.

Cuando pensamos en una biblioteca, nos imaginamos un edificio en una calle o tal vez una sala en una escuela. Pero algunas bibliotecas no están encerradas entre paredes. Algunas se mueven de un lugar a otro de formas increíbles: en autobús, barco, elefante, burro, tren o incluso en carretilla.                 Estas innovadoras bibliotecas móviles suelen ser la única manera de llevar libros a la gente que vive en lugares remotos, como las montañas de Tailandia, el desierto Gobi de Mongolia o las zonas rurales de Zimbabue. En lugares como estos, la llegada de las bibliotecas es un gran evento muy anticipado. Sin embargo, los libros nunca llegarían a la gente sin el duro trabajo y la dedicación de los bibliotecarios y voluntarios.                Margriet Ruurs, escritora y educadora, se puso en contacto con bibliotecarios de todo el mundo y les pidió que compartieran historias de sus bibliotecas. En muchos casos, los voluntarios y los bibliotecarios tomaron sus cámaras fotográficas y retrataron las caras felices de los niños al recibir los libros. El resultado es este ensayo fotográfico inspirador que celebra los libros, a los lectores y a los bibliotecarios.                ¿Por qué los bibliotecarios se toman la molestia de empacar libros en el lomo de un elefante o manejar durante millas para llevar los libros en autobús? Porque, como dice un bibliotecario de Azerbaiyán, “la biblioteca móvil es tan importante como el aire o el agua”.

When teenage Aaron discovers a baby elephant nearly drowning in the swimming pool at the guest lodge where he works, he acts quickly and manages to save the animal just in time. The rescued baby is brought to an elephant orphanage for care, and given the name Zambezi. When Aaron is offered a job at the orphanage, his life is suddenly transformed, as he discovers a bond of friendship with Zambezi and his lifelong vocation as an elephant keeper.

Everyone in the world has a birthday. But birthdays are not celebrated in the same way everywhere. Meet Mercedes in Peru, who eats a cake and a purple pudding called mazamorra morada. Ieva in Latvia is raised in the birthday chair, one lift for each year. And rather than celebrating his own birthday, Phuc Khang in Vietnam joins in the festivities during Tet, when everyone in the country turns one year older. Based on interviews with real people, award-winning author Margriet Ruurs tells the unique birthday traditions of seventeen children from all around the globe.

This book allows young readers to visit with fourteen children, all from different countries, to learn about their families. Based on real children, each is told in the first person, beginning with a greeting in the child's native language. From Ryan, who lives on a Texas cattle farm, to Nkoitoi, who tends the family goat in Kenya, to Baatar, who moves regularly with his nomadic family in Mongolia, there is a vast range of homes, locations, customs and activities presented here, all of it illustrated with bright colors and vivid detail by illustrator Jessica Rae Gordon.

Now in an updated edition with revised back matter, the quintessential picture-book biography of Ted Harrison (1926–2015)Ted Harrison’s brightly coloured and wildly imaginative paintings set in the Yukon have become synonymous with the North. His instantly-recognizable images of the land of the midnight sun hang in galleries and private collections around the world. But how did a boy who grew up in a drab mining town in northeast England become one of Canada’s most beloved and decorated artists?A Brush Full of Colour is the story of a boy whose passion for learning would save him from a life in the coalmines. The books by the American writer Jack London and Canadian poet Robert Service fired his imagination with scenes of the wilderness and the Klondike Gold Rush. He trained as an artist, and a stint in the British Intelligence Service allowed him to travel. But Ted never stopped dreaming of the North, and when he saw an advertisement for teachers in Northern Alberta, he jumped at the chance to emigrate to Canada, where the biggest adventure of his life would begin.Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson trace the life of Ted Harrison and the influences that would lead to his unique style as an artist. Filled with full-colour examples of his vivid art, and with a foreword written by Ted Harrison himself, this nonfiction picture book will provide inspiration for a new generation of budding artists.