Dotlich, Rebecca Kai 1951-

Personal

Born Rebecca Kay Thomson, July 10, 1951, in Indianapolis, IN; daughter of John and Charlotte Thompson; married; husband's name Steve; children: one son, one daughter. Education: Attended Indiana University, Bloomington.

Addresses

Home—IN. E-mail—rebeccakai@aol.com.

Career

Writer. Formerly worked as a library staffer, in real estate, and in public relations.

Awards, Honors

International Reading Association Children's Choice designation, and Indiana Best Read-Aloud designation, both 1998, both for Lemonade Sun; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, and Ten Best Books for Babies designation, both 2000, both for Away We Go!; Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book designation, and Subaru SB & F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, AAAS/Subaru, both 2007, both for What Is Science?

Writings

POETRY

Sweet Dreams of the Wild: Poems for Bedtime, illustrated by Katharine Dodge, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 1996.

Lemonade Sun; and Other Summer Poems, illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 1998.

When Riddles Come Rumbling: Poems to Ponder, illustrated by Karen Dugan, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2001.

In the Spin of Things: Poetry of Motion, illustrated by Karen Dugan, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2003.

Over in the Pink House: New Jump Rope Rhymes, illustrated by Melanie Hall, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2004.

(With J. Patrick Lewis) Castles: Old Stone Poems, illustrated by Dan Burr, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2006.

CONCEPT BOOKS

What Is Square?, illustrated by Maria Ferrari, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1999.

What Is Round?, illustrated by Maria Ferrari, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1999.

What Is Triangle?, illustrated by Maria Ferrari, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

Away We Go!, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

PICTURE BOOKS

A Family like Yours, illustrated by Tammie Lyon, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2002.

Mama Loves, illustrated by Kathryn Brown, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Grandpa Loves, illustrated by Kathryn Brown, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

What Is Science?, illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa, Holt (New York, NY), 2006.

Peanut and Pearl's Picnic Adventure (reader), illustrated by R.W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Ladybug, Click, Storyworks, ASK!, Highlights, Turtle, Humpty Dumpty, Creative Classroom, and Teaching K-8. Poetry represented in anthologies, including Paul Janeczko, editor, A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms, Candlewick Press; Janeczko, editor, Hey, You! HarperCollins; Jack Prelutsky, editor, The 20th-Century Children's Poetry Treasury, Knopf; Prelutsky, editor, Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme, Knopf; Lee Bennett Hopkins, editor, A Pet for Me, HarperCollins; Hopkins, editor, Halloween Howls: Holiday Poetry, HarperCollins; Hopkins, Valentine Hearts: Holiday Poetry, HarperCollins; Hopkins, editor, Christmas Presents: Holiday Poetry, HarperCollins; Hopkins, editor, Climb into My Lap, Simon & Schuster; Hopkins, editor, School Supplies: A Book of Poems, Simon & Schuster; Hopkins, editor, Yummy! Eating through the Day, Simon & Schuster; Hopkins, editor, Marvelous Math, Simon & Schuster; Hopkins, Spectacular Science, Simon & Schuster; Hopkins, editor, Wonderful Words, Simon & Schuster; Hopkins, Got Geography! Greenwillow; Hopkins, editor, Days to Celebrate: A Full Year of Poetry, People, Fascinating Facts, and More, Greenwillow; and Hopkins, editor, My America: A Poetry Atlas of the U.S., Simon & Schuster.

Sidelights

Even before she realized she wanted to be a writer, Rebecca Kai Dotlich understood the importance words would play in her life. "I remember pouring over the words to the lyrics from my parent's favorite songs. This was far more important to me than the music," she explained on the Embracing the Child Web site. A middle child, Dotlich grew up in suburban Indiana, comfortably wedged between older brother Curtis and younger sister Beth. In high school she was officially dubbed a poet after a poem she had written made one of her teachers cry. New inspirations for writing came in college, when Dotlich attended Indiana University, Bloomington. There, as she admitted on her home page, "My only real interest was in classes that celebrated the written word: creative writing, poetry, and even the history of song lyrics. As long as I was involved with words on paper, I was content."

After college came marriage, and motherhood, and exposure to the books that would inspire Dotlich to write for children. "I began to read fairy tales, picture books, and poetry to sleepy bodies at night, or during cranky afternoons," she recalled on her home page. "I woke up early and stayed up late, just so I could write…. Many afternoons were spent in the backyard with lunch boxes, reading stacks of books. Life doesn't get much better." After years of practice, rejection, study, and rewriting, Dotlich's poetry found its way into magazines. Then, in 1995, her first book-length manuscript, Sweet

Dreams of the Wild: Poems for Bedtime, was picked up by Boyds Mills Press, beginning Dotlich's award-winning career as a respected poet for children.

Sweet Dreams of the Wild: Poems for Bedtime, collects night-themed poetry featuring an assortment of wild animals and their sleeping habits. Susan Dove Lempke, reviewing the book for Booklist, praised the "soothing, rhythmic poems" in the collection and noted Dotlich's ability to convey a "quiet, tender mood." Another verse collection, When Riddles Come Rumbling: Poems to Ponder, finds twenty-nine everyday objects described in a rhyming text designed to help readers guess each poem's subject. "Children will enjoy these riddle poems either one-on-one or in a group setting," predicted Cathie Reed in School Library Journal.

In the Spin of Things: Poetry of Motion collects twenty-three free-verse poems about the actions of every-day objects, from ice cubes to pencil sharpeners. Sally R. Dow, writing in School Library Journal, found the poems "imaginative," and Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman noted that "reading aloud these short rhythmic lines will make kids find poetry in ordinary things." Over in the Pink House: New Jump Rope Rhymes finds children, rather than objects, in motion. A Kirkus Re-

views contributor wrote that Dotlich's verse collection "ably captures" the "timeless, folkloric quality" of traditional skipping-rope rhymes and dubbed the collection a "winning combination of infectious rhythms and easy-to-learn rhymes." Dow wrote of the poems that "each one has a lighthearted, whimsical quality," and Rochman noted that Over in the Pink House "makes words a part of play."

Dotlich collaborated with fellow children's book author J. Patrick Lewis on Castles: Old Stone Poems. The verses in this work each focus on a different part of a castle and also bring castles to life. "Dreamers will latch on to the poems and pictures," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, the reviewer adding that a timeline is also included for young historians. Gillian Engberg, writing in Booklist, recommended Castles "for classroom exercises that show how poetry can help bring history into the present."

In addition to her poetry, Dotlich has written several picture books and concept books for very young readers. In What Is Round? her rhyming text accompanies photographs of round objects which toddlers are likely to encounter. Each entry takes "just the right amount of time to hold a young child's attention," according to Booklist contributor Kathy Broderick. Away We Go, which introduces children to different forms of transportation, is "a direct, joyful way to teach words, colors, [and] movements," according to Rochman, while Martha Topol noted in School Library Journal that "the catchy phrase ‘Away we go!’ will have listeners chanting along" with the rollicking text.

Dotlich presents basic concepts of science in her picture book What Is Science? "This title will be enjoyed by newly independent readers, or will ignite excitement in a group," wrote Lynda Ritterman in her School Library Journal review of the book. A Kirkus Reviews contributor described the title as "a child-friendly introduction to the huge, and sometimes daunting, realm of science."

In A Family like Yours Dotlich looks at how families are alike and how they are different in many different settings and situations. "This delightful offering is a welcome departure from stories about family groupings," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Mama Loves focuses on the relationship between a mother pig and her daughter. "This sweet story in rhyme works without becoming sappy," concluded Roxanne Burg in her School Library Journal review, and a Kirkus Reviews contributor found the tale "comforting and gentle." Ilene Cooper, writing in Booklist, predicted that Dotlich's "charmer … will easily resonate with little ones." Grandpa Loves share a similar theme as it explores the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild. School Library Journal contributor Sheilah Kosco deemed Grandpa Loves to be "a wonderful and touching tribute."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1996, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Sweet Dreams of the Wild: Poems for Bedtime, p. 839; July, 1999, Kathy Broderick, review of What Is Round?, p. 1950; September 1, 2000, Hazel Rochman, review of Away We Go!, p. 121; November 1, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of When Riddles Come Rumbling: Poems to Ponder, p. 472; April 1, 2003, Hazel Rochman, review of In the Spin of Things: Poetry of Motion, p. 1408; March 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Mama Loves, p. 1204; May 1, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Over in the Pink House: New Jump Rope Rhymes, p. 1560; June 1, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Grandpa Loves, p. 1821; September 15, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of What Is Science?, p. 63; October 1, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of Castles: Old Stone Poems, p. 51.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2002, review of A Family like Yours, p. 409; February 15, 2003, review of In the Spin of Things, p. 304; February 1, 2004, review of Mama Loves, p. 131; March 15, 2004, review of Over in the Pink House, p. 267; August 15, 2006, review of What Is Science?, p. 839; October 1, 2006, review of Castles, p. 1018.

Publishers Weekly, March 1, 1999, review of What Is Round?, p. 71; February 26, 2001, review of Lemonade Sun, p. 88; March 15, 2004, review of Mama Loves, p. 73.

School Library Journal, April, 1999, Susan Marie Pitard, review of What Is Round?, p. 113; November, 2000, Martha Topol, review of Away We Go!, p. 113; Ellen Heath, review of What Is a Triangle?, p. 140; October, 2001, Cathie Reed, review of When Riddles Come Rumbling, p. 182; July, 2002, Lisa Gangemi Kropp, review of A Family like Yours, p. 106; March, 2003, Sally R. Dow, review of In the Spin of Things, p. 216; August, 2004, Sally R. Dow, review of Over in the Pink House, p. 130; December, 2004, Roxanne Burg, review of Mama Loves, p. 106; May, 2005, Sheilah Kosco, review of Grandpa Loves, p. 80; October, 2006, Jill Heritage Maza, review of Castles, p. 179; November, 2006, Lynda Ritterman, review of What Is Science?, p. 119.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2007, Tina Frolund, review of Castles, p. 550.

ONLINE

Boyds Mills Press Web site,http://www.boydsmillspress.com/ (August 6, 2007), "Rebecca Kai Dotlich."

Embracing the Child Web site,http://www.embracingthechild.org/ (August 6, 2007), interview with Dotlich.

Rebecca Kai Dotlich Home Page,http://www.rebeccakaidotlich.com (August 6, 2007).