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Corfu, Greece
Liana Metal lives in Greece, on the island of Corfu. She is an EFL teacher(MAEd -Applied Linguistics), book reviewer and freelance writer. Liana is also an artist. Her drawings/paintings can be found both online at www.aggelia-online.gr and at several shops in Corfu town. To contact the artist visit http://LianaMetal.tripod.com or her blog at http://LianasKerkyra.blogspot.com Η Ηλιάνα Μεταλληνού διδάσκει Αγγλικά στην Κέρκυρα, γράφει άρθρα και ιστορίες για έντυπες και ηλεκτρονικές εκδόσεις σε όλο τον κόσμο και ζωγραφίζει. Μπορείτε να την επισκεφθείτε στην ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση http://toasprosaligari.blogspot.com και http://www.coffeetimecorfu.com

Storytime

Storytime
A book for kids/ 3 stories in English

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Meet Anita Yasuda!


For July, my guest author is Anita Yasuda, a children's book writer.
Read her interview and learn about her and her latest work.


Interview with Anita Yasuda, the author of Explore The Solar System! 25 Great Projects Activities Experiments (Nomad Press 2009)

Tell us about yourself first.

I am a trained Montessori early childhood teacher who works as a freelance writer. I’ve written ten books to date with more titles scheduled to be released next year. My family travels widely and as such I am lucky to visit places around the world. My non-writing self is usually volunteering at school events or is back stage at the local theatre.

When did you start writing?

My mother tells me I always had a pencil in my hand and would stay up for hours writing and writing long after the lights went out. Thank goodness for flashlights! I started working as a freelance writer ten years ago, shortly after my daughter was born and haven’t looked back since.

What genres have you written?

I write nonfiction because I love researching. It’s exciting to learn something new, to ‘meet’ famous and not so famous people from the past and present, to travel to unusual locations, learn about multicultural festivals, and to tell an interesting story of course! I’ve written books for collectors on many subjects including Japanese children’s fabrics, Hello Kitty®, Japanese anime, travel books on San Diego and Buffalo and even ghost books on California. My articles for children mainly focus on multicultural crafts and festivals. I’ve written pieces on voting in India, children’s toys from Indonesia, stargazing, and more.

Is Explore the Solar System: 25 Projects, Activities, Experiments (Nomad Press 2009) your first book?

Explore the Solar System: 25 Projects, Activities, Experiments is my first book for children. I previously have written nine books for adults. It was great to work on a book I could share with my daughter who is in Grade five and my niece and nephew. I was so lucky to have three eager children ready and willing to try out all the activities.

Tell us about your book. What is it about?

Explore the Solar System: 25 Projects, Activities, Experiments, takes children ages 6-9 on an amazing, standards-based journey to the solar system, teaching them about everything from the Earth to the Sun, to the Asteroid Belt and beyond. The activities run the gamut from creating an origami version of the solar system that can hang anywhere to making a solar oven to witness the power of the sun, providing a fun way to learn about the Solar System.

What inspired you to write this book?

I was thrilled when I was asked to write this book as I’ve always been an astronomy buff. I’ve enjoyed many nights looking at the stars with my daughter. As 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s astronomical observations what better way to celebrate than writing a text that children could use to discover the solar system.

How long did it take you to write it?


I wrote the book over six months. Most of the activities were completed in half that time as I had such enthusiastic volunteers!

Who is the publisher of your book?

Nomad Press located in Vermont published my book. They are a great company who publish quality children’s educational books. I was a customer before I wrote for them!

Where is it on sale?


Explore the Solar System: 25 Projects, Activities, Experiments is available through any major chain such as Amazon or Chapters, and at Independent bookstores.
What do you advise new writers to do?

Write about what you love. And remember to read as much as you can in the genre in which you are writing.


Thank you!



http://anitayasuda.livejournal.com/

11 comments:

Vivian Zabel said...

Anita, your book sounds interesting. I know my children, when they were children, would have enjoyed it very much.

http://vivianzabel.blogspot.com

Dorothy Massey said...

I hosted Anita last month so was interested to read about the other genres in which she's written. What a fascinating variety!

Nancy Famolari said...

Very interesting interview. Your book sounds excellent. Being a talented non-fiction writer for children is wonderful. Children want to know so many things.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting interview and author. I admire non-fiction authors for all the research they have to do. Just the amount of research I have to do for "realism" in my novels is plenty for me!

The Old Silly

ps - Hey - please do me a favor - whatever you can, maybe post an announcement for me on VBT - my former blogs are gone - zapped by the evil Google Nazis - long story that I will not go into for fear of exploding in rage, but - new site is at http://theoldsilly.com

I'd post it myself but VBT is glitching on me and I can't post anything! AAARGH!!

Karen Cioffi said...

Anita, Explore the Solar System sounds wonderful and I'm sure kids will love it. I love children's books that can trigger an interest in a child and possibly lead to a future career.

Great post, Liana,
Karen

Unknown said...

Thank you for this great post. I love educational books and this one sounds great.

Liana said...

Thank you all for stopping by!

Anita, thank you for your interesting information.
Liana

Helena Harper said...

This is a fascinating interview, Anita. I've always been intrigued by space (and my first picture book is actually set in space). Your book sounds like it will really get children interested in our solar system. Kudos to you!

Thank you, Liana, for a great post!

Helena
http://www.helenaharper.com

Liana said...

Thank you Helena!
Liana

Anonymous said...

Thank you Liana for hosting me!--Anita

Liana said...

Anita, it was my pleasure!
Liana