BROIDA, Marian

Personal

Female. Religion: Jewish.

Addresses

Home— Seattle, WA. Office— c/o Author Mail, Benchmark Books, 99 White Plains Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591. E-mail— maribroida@cs.com.

Career

Writer and speaker; former community college instructor; registered nurse and health educator; art instructor; former artist-in-residence at Seattle Children's Museum.

Member

American Research Center in Egypt.

Awards, Honors

Sydney Taylor Book Award honor book selection, Association of Jewish Libraries, 2003, for Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide.

Writings

Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, illustrated by Corasue Nicholas, Chicago Review Press (Chicago, IL), 1999.

Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, Chicago Review Press (Chicago, IL), 2003.

New Hope for People with Depression, Prima Publishing (Roseville, CA), 2001.

"HANDS-ON HISTORY" SERIES

Projects about Plantation Life, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Projects about American Indians of the Southwest, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Projects about Colonial Life, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Projects about the Plains Indians, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Projects about Westward Expansion, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Sidelights

Marian Broida is the author of several activity books that help young readers learn about history. In Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, she explores the daily life and culture of the Egyptians, Hittites, Nubians, and Mesopotamians. "The fascinating history of these people is presented in a lively text," wrote Booklist contributor Helen Rosenberg. Broida also provides instructions for several related creative projects, including constructing a model of an Egyptian sailboat and a Mesopotamian royal headdress, using easy-to-find materials.

Broida looks at the Israelites, Philistines, and Phoenicians in Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide. Just as she does in Ancient Egyptians in this work the author examines the architecture, clothing, food, religious beliefs, and language of the different groups. Kay Weisman, writing in Booklist, praised Broida's use of "archaelogical finds and written historical records" in her research, and Kliatt reviewer Jennifer Baldwin noted that the author portrays the "ancient cultures and their religions accurately." Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors also includes directions for more than thirty projects and recipes.

In 2004 Broida introduced the "Hands-On History" series of activity books, which includes such titles as Projects about Colonial Life and Projects about American Indians of the Southwest. Each work in the series contains illustrations, maps, background information about the era, and craft ideas. School Library Journal reviewer Lynda Ritterman called the works "solid choices" for children interested in history.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2000, Helen Rosenberg, review of Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An ActivityGuide, p. 1371; May 15, 2003, Kay Weisman, review of Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, p. 1657; April 1, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Projects about American Indians of the Southwest and Projects about Colonial Life, p. 1373.

Kliatt, January, 2004, Jennifer Baldwin, review of Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors, pp. 31-32.

Publishers Weekly, December 13, 1999, "Do It Yourself," p. 85.

School Library Journal, February, 2000, Betsy Barnett, review of Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, p. 128; August, 2003, Genevieve Gallagher, review of Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors, p. 172; March, 2004, Lynda Ritterman, review of Projects about Colonial Life, Projects about Plantation Life, and Projects about Westward Expansion, p. 190; April, 2004, S. K. Joiner, review of Projects about American Indians of the Southwest and Projects about the Plains Indians, p. 166.

ONLINE

Independent Publishers Group Web site, http://www.ipgbook.com/ (August 16, 2004).*