It is an exciting moment for an author to have a book come full circle this way. Khadra traveled to Pakistan where she and our book were greeted with enthusiasm. Khadra says "“I can’t begin to tell you how well received the book is here. I wish you could have seen the look in the refugee girls eyes when they saw the book. It was like magic as if to say someone cared enough to write about us...”

The children in the refugee camps were excited and pleased to actually see a book about themselves. They sent Khadra home with greetings and thanks and a pillow they embroidered for me, a thank you for writing the book.

Teacher Guides have been created for each of the books and are available as PDFs for download on the individual book pages. These guides are to be used as companions for Karen's school visits. Contact Karen to find out more about arranging a visit for your school.

Collaboration with Khadra

The Spirit of the Cheetah is another book I am working on with Khadra Mohammed. Khadra says:
"My family was forced to leave Somalia when Said Barre came to power in 1969, the year I was born. As a result I was born in exile. It was a difficult choice my parents made, to leave and never be able to return to our homeland. I have traveled to many countries around the world growing up but I am forbidden to even visit Somalia. As a child I longed for my native home and a place to belong. I spent endless days listening to my father as he told tales about the beautiful land and the people who lived peacefully with the animals drawing much wisdom from them. These stories gave me a great pride and comfort. Thousands of Somalis have left their country now torn apart and barren as the result of civil war and famine. The Cheetah too no longer exists in that country. I hope one day to be able to journey back to the one place I think of as home, the land of the Shabelle river where Cheetahs once roamed in plenty."

I became interested in this story about a boy who learns speed and grace and dignity from the Cheetah because my own son runs cross country and I know the practice and concentration it takes to run with speed. I am also interested in the fact that the Cheetah is the fastest land animal. These are the kinds of things that come together in my imagination to form a story.

I met Khadra in 2002 when I returned from Haiti. She was working with refugees and in her free time she was reading to the children. One young girl asked Khadra why there were no books about children like her, a refugee from Afghanistan. Khadra is Somali and a natural story teller. She began looking for a writer with whom she could collaborate. Her stories resonated for me and we began writing together.

Through Khadra I began working with refugees who have been resettled in Pittsburgh. Their stories of courage and strength are compelling and the work is gratifying and humbling. We are currently working on several more projects about refugees from different countries for readers of various ages including mid-grade, teen and adult, fiction and non-fiction. I have become immersed in the world of refugees and I am very excited about these two projects which dovetail with my other works that have emerged from my passion for stories and friends from many cultures.

Newly Published

In the book Chicken Soup for the Child’s Soul, the story I wrote, The Best Toys Ever is based on something that happened with my own children when they were younger.

A book I wrote for the Harcourt Achieve Rigby books reading program has recently been published. The book is called This Missing Moon Mystery. This is the first mystery I have written and I had a lot of fun doing the research for it. I got the idea from and experience I had trying to plan a full moon party.

New Book to Raise
Cancer Awareness

I am currently working with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Center for Environmental Oncology.
Whose Shoes? is a rhyming book about one of the easiest and best ways we can protect ourselves from environmental agents that can make us ill.

Can you guess what it is?

Lubuto Means Light: In this new picture book manuscript Chiwato from Zambia is left homeless because of the aids epidemic.  Like the thousands of street children worldwide, he searches for a place to call home.  That’s when he learns about a special place called Lubuto Library.  This is a story for children everywhere who have ever found a home at the library.  I was inspired to write this book by the founder of the Lubuto Library Project.  To learn more about this project and children like Chiwato see the website www.Lubuto.org.

A Beach Tail: This simple story was inspired by my love of the beach and nature and many pleasant holidays spent at the seashore as a child and with my own children. 

Swish swoosh.  Gregory drew a lion in the sand.
“A sea lion?”  Dad asked.
“A sandy lion.”  Gregory said. 

Sandy needs a tail and Dad warns Gregory not to go in the water and not to leave Sandy.  The Sandy lion does get a tail that grows longer and longer.  Gregory manages to have an adventure, exploring the beach and nearly getting lost.  But he does not go in the water and he does not leave Sandy.   How does he find his way back to Dad on the dolphin towel under the blue umbrella as the tide gets higher and higher?

Finding Tyson (working title). In this young YA novel, 14 year old Boniface is forced to live in Kibera the largest slum in Africa as a victim of the aids epidemic that has taken his mother and his grandfather.  He manages to eke out a dignified existence where he attends school and plays soccer and dreams of going on to secondary school.  But when his best friend and mentor, Tyson is hit and killed by a pick up truck, Boniface’s fragile world falls apart.  He ends up on the streets of Nairobi as a chokera, a street boy, where life is degrading and harsh. He is unable to accept the help offered by his friends Beatrice a schoolmate and the girl he has a crush on or Madam Josephine, the local business woman who buys used paper for recylcing from the street boys. Boniface must find a way to cope with this new loss and in doing so he learns more about his dead friend, himself, life in his own world and beyond.

I have been working on a book of poetry for adults. In April 2007 I attended a writer’s workshop in Chautauqua, New York where I studied with the Pulitzer prize winner poet, Carl Dennis. I have had two poems published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Homewood Cemetery and  Because it’s Summer.

Work in Progress

When I was in Taiwan for the wedding of my son, Peter, I was invited to speak at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators chapter there. I signed copies of Circles of Hope which had been translated into Chinese.

Travel to Italy

In April 2007 I traveled to Italy with Inonian Jewel tours.  We visited the region of Calabria and I have written some travel articles about this magical part of Italy.

Most seasoned travelers know that if you only have a week or two, the best way to see a foreign country is to visit someone who lives there…. Unfortunately most of us don’t personally know a native of every country we would like to visit.  But if you ever thought you might like to explore Southern Italy, you are in luck because the best way to see Calabria, Sicily, Bascilicata, Puglia…..

.

Travel to Kenya

Photos: Wendy Stone

I recently visited Kenya where I was the guest author at the International School of Kenya.  I spent time traveling around the country with photographer Wendy Stone.  We have collaborated on several books about the lives of children from the many different tribes of this country rich in tradition and history. 

One of my favorite places in Kenya was the tiny, remote Island of Lamu where most of the people are Swahili Muslim.  The people were very friendly and we were invited inside their homes.  I observed in schools and enjoyed the natural beauty, simple lifestyle, the boats and architecture.

I also spent a week following the life of a young girl named Beatrice who lives in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa.  I went to school with her and she shared her joys and fears with me.

The exhilarating contrasts between the different landscapes and life styles all in a single country mirror the remarkable richness of the African Continent. It is the children of these various cultures who carry on their heritage as they face constant and inevitable change wrought by nature as well as man. We continue to explore the stories of these children and others.

Editors should contact my agent, Karen Klockner if they would be interested in hearing more about these projects.