Nolan, Janet 1956–

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Nolan, Janet 1956–

Personal

Born October 27, 1956, in Chicago, IL; daughter of Donald and Audrey (a travel agent) Gould; married Bill Nolan (a computer sales consultant), April 18, 1982; children: Tom, Megan. Education: Evergreen State College, B.A., 1979; University of Illinois—Chicago, M.U. P., 1986. Hobbies and other interests: Swimming, reading, "taking very long walks."

Addresses

Home and office—Oak Park, IL. E-mail—janet.nolan@gmail.com.

Career

Writer. Formerly worked as a waste auditor for a recycling company and as a professional meeting facilitator; volunteer at local schools.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Writings

The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh, illustrated by Ben F. Stahl, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2002.

A Father's Day Thank You, illustrated by Kathi Ember, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2007.

The Firehouse Light, Tricycle Press, 2010.

Sidelights

Janet Nolan is the author of picture books that include The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh and A Father's Day Thank You. "Writing is a way of learning," Nolan stated on her home page. "If there is something I want to know, or understand, the best way for me to grasp something new is through reading and writing."

Nolan took a circuitous route to becoming a children's author. As she once told SATA, "I was working as a waste auditor for a recycling company. It was a very cool job: clipboard, hard hat, and steel-toed boots. It's the kind of thing people with graduate degrees in urban planning and a desire to save the planet do. I analyzed the waste/recycling streams out of large downtown Chicago buildings. My writing was technical and academic. Somewhere along the way I was asked to write a brochure for children to explain a plastics recycling program. I wrote the brochure at work, and at home I wrote ‘Patti Petunia's Pink Bubble Bath Bottle: An Adventure in Recycling.’ While that story did not launch my career, it did wake up some sleeping brain cells. I wrote one terrible children's story after another. It didn't matter how horrible they were. They were private. I didn't show them to anyone; therefore I wasn't a writer. I considered my writing was the artistic equivalent of singing in the shower: harmless but fun. Then came a wonderful moment after a family wedding in Philadelphia.

"Everyone was walking down the street except for my cousin's three-year-old daughter. She was dancing, in a world of her own, in mismatched patent-leather ‘tapping shoes’ and a dress that spun when she twirled. The combination of family togetherness and one child's ability to be part of the family yet uniquely independent inspired me.

"Finally, I had something to write about: what I felt, not what I wanted to say. I did not set out to write a book chronicling the lives of an Irish-American family. I wanted to write a book that gave my niece a reason to dance. The first character I created was the grandfather, a man who walked with a cane and told wonderful stories of Ireland that my niece always wanted to hear. Over time—years actually—with the help of my wise critique group and patient editor, a story emerged. The grandfather's cane—the shillelagh—became the link that tied the generations of my niece's family together."

Nolan's debut work, The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh, centers on Fergus, a young boy who immigrates to the United States during the Irish potato famine. Before he leaves his homeland, however, Fergus cuts a branch from his favorite blackthorn tree, and he passes time on the long overseas trip by whittling the branch into a shillelagh. Each year on St. Patrick's Day, Fergus recalls his family's roots, and he eventually passes the shillelagh to his son, Emmett. As the years go by, the heirloom and its history are passed from generation to generation. Writing in Booklist, Lauren Peterson applauded the "heartwarming story, which also celebrates the art of storytelling," and School Library Journal reviewer Piper L. Nyman described the work as a "nice introduction to Irish immigration and the concepts of family traditions and heritage."

A young bear cub has difficulty choosing the right present for his dad in A Father's Day Thank You, "an endearing story that will charm readers," according to School Library Journal critic Kathleen Pavin. While his three older siblings are content to give their father ties, a box of nails, and golf balls year after year, Harvey is determined to come up with something creative and original. After his father helps Harvey solve a number of minor problems, including repairing a flat bicycle tire, the youngster designs a handmade gift that demonstrates his appreciation for all his father has done. A critic in Kirkus Reviews described Nolan's tale as "a warm sentiment to share with any child shopping for Father's Day."

"If not a writer, I have always been a reader. What I love about reading is getting lost. I believe getting lost in a story that has the power to take me to a different place, a different reality, or a different time is a gift. What I've … discovered is that getting lost in writing is a gift as well."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2003, Lauren Peterson, review of The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh, p. 909; April 1, 2007, Todd Morning, review of A Father's Day Thank You, p. 58.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2007, review of A Father's Day Thank You, p. 78.

School Library Journal, December, 2002, Piper L. Nyman, review of The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh, p. 104; March, 2007, Kathleen Pavin, review of A Father's Day Thank You, p. 182.