Sandra Markle

Sandra Markle is a US author of children's books.

She was born on November 10, 1946 in Fostoria, Ohio, and graduated from Fostoria High School and Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. She worked as an elementary and middle school teacher until 1979 at which time she started being a full-time writer.

She has published more than 100 non-fiction books for children, primarily on science topics. Keenly interested in making even complex science topics understandable, she also became involved in television and later on-line education. She appeared as Ms. Whiz on local television in Asheville, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. She wrote and helped developed science specials for CNN and PBS. She also produced the first on-line interactive program from Antarctica in 1996: "On-line Expedition Antarctica."

She has also written fiction, creating the young adult novel, "The Fledglings", and a series of poetic prose natural history stories, including "A Mother's Journey", and "Little Lost Bat".

Markle's books are noted for finding just the right balance of facts for her intended audience and selecting stunning, full-color photographs to bring her topic to life. For example, "Rescues", (Millbrook, 2006) shares real-life stories based on interviews with survivors and rescuers. There are also sections that share the science and technology which made the rescues possible.

Her books are frequent selections in the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students lists of the National Science Teachers Association.

Markle was chosen to journey to Antarctica in 1996 and 1998 as part of the National Science Foundation's Artists and Writers Program. A number of books came out of her experiences in Antarctica, including "A Mother's Journey" (Charlesbridge, 2005).

Markle also worked on a project for the National Science Foundation called Kit & Kaboodle. Its goal was to make science more interactive in order to improve student understanding of basic curriculum concepts. It also functioned as a secure envirnoment for students in schools across the U.S. to share working on experiments together. The results of independent testing conducted by Georgia State University revealed that students participating in Kit & Kaboodle scored significantly higher on related skills tests than those that did not. Kit & Kaboodle has been used by thousands of schools in all fifty states plus eleven countries.

Although Markle is no longer officially a teacher, she still frequently visits classrooms. Ms. Markle says, "I love to share science with children, and I love to listen to them. That's how I find out what they'd like to investigate and explore--very often what launches me into working on my next book."

Partial list of awards

Markle has been honored by many awards for her work including:Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor BookChildren's Book Council/International Reading Association Children's Book ChoiceTexas Blue Bonnet selectionTexas Mockingbird AwardJohn Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers

ources

*Interviews with NZ Children's Authors: Sandra Markle
*Ohio Center For The Book: Cleveland Public Library "Ohio Authors: Sandra Markle"
*Teaching with Children's Books: A Scientific Approach by Lisa Von Drasek from Teachi

References

*Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 National Science Teachers AssociationSandra Markle's official website http://sandramarkle.com