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About the author
Joseph Patrick Anthony was born the tenth of eleven children. His family loved the mountains, so exploring with his brothers and sisters nurtured an innate love for adventure and an appreciation for the natural world. He traveled with the Navy as a trumpet player, worked in a natural food store, as a Corrections Officer, a massage therapist, and a construction supervisor, experiences which have all served to deepen his self-understanding and perspective on the human condition. Joseph's cosmological work, "Our Multi-Tiered Universe," grew out of a desire to help move the planet to a clean energy future. His website is www.JosephPatrickAnthony.com.Christopher Canyon is the illustrator of several wonderful books for children. When he isn't in his studio, Christopher enjoys traveling and providing educational and entertaining programs for schools, libraries, and conferences. Christopher received his formal art education at the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. His work has been selected for many exhibits and publications including the Society of Illustrators, the Mazza Collection at the university of Findlay, Ohio, and the Natural History magazine.
Currently Christopher is adapting and illustrating several of John Denver's songs as children's picture books. The critically acclaimed Sunshine On My Shoulders was released by Dawn Publications in 2003, Ancient Rhymes: A Dolphin Lullaby in 2004, and Take Me Home, Country Roads in September 2005.
Christopher Canyon shares some thoughts on the project: "To have this opportunity to share John Denver's music and message with the children of today is truly a dream. John gave the world so many thoughtful songs about relationships; our global need to live together in peace and the importance of caring for our environment. These messages, as relevant today as ever, and John's music and voice continue to touch our lives and lift our spirits."
Three of Christopher's books, Sunshine On My Shoulders, The Tree in the Ancient Forest and Stickeen, have won the American Bookseller Association's Benjamin Franklin Award for best children's picture book of the year. Chistopher is also the illustrator of Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You and the beautiful Earth trilogy, Earth and You - A Closer View: Nature's Features, Earth and Us - Continuous: Nature's Past & Future, and Earth and Me - Our Family Tree: Nature's Creatures. Christopher lives with his wife and cat in central Ohio.When David Rice was seven years old, he observed a small dog trying to wake its mother which had been killed by a passing car. As he watched the grieving puppy's vain attempts, he was struck by the depth of sadness and pain. David's lifelong interest in feelings-both animal and human-comes through in his books, Do Animals Have Feelings Too?, Lifetimes and Because Brian Hugged His Mother. Lifetimes introduces some of nature's longest, shortest and most unusual lifetimes and the lessons we can learn from them. Because Brian Hugged His Mother shows how a chain reaction of kindness can spread through a whole school and community as a result of a single hug. David Rice is retired elementary and special education teacher, currently residing in southern California.Trudy Calvert grew up in a rural, wooded area, near a creek where some of her first friends were tadpoles, minnows, ducks, squirrels and snakes. She raised a baby robin, and later a coyote pup that had been hit by a car. As an art teacher, and now as a full time professional artist, Trudy has a passionate love of nature and animals. She is past president of the Indiana Wildlife Artists, a group that promotes wildlife art. Often she can sense what animals are feeling and responds without needing spoken words. Do Animals Have Feelings To? is Trudy's first book with Dawn Publications.
