Carolyn Lesser - Author, Inspirational Speaker, and Explorer

Consultant/Speaker (Keynote, Workshops, Institutes):

Presentations at state, national, and international venues, speaking at teacher in-service institutes, Young Author Conferences, University classes, libraries, writer’s organizations and conferences.

Visiting Author:

In schools in the United States, The Bahamas, the South Pacific, Republic of Palau, Micronesia, and International Schools in Europe and China.

Teacher:
	Graduate Nonfiction Writing courses at Webster University, St. Louis, MO.
	Cape Cod Writer’s Center, Summer Writer’s Conference, August 2002.
	South Ocean International School, Datong, Shanxi Province, China.
	Maryville University and Webster University, St. Louis, MO.
	Adult education classes in quilt making and quilt design.
	Public and private elementary and middle schools, grades 3-7, MO & WI

Professional Achievements and Awards:
	2000 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient, The University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh, October 2000, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
	The Fred Karush Endowed Library Readership, at the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, summer 2000.
	Science Writer’s Fellowship, at the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, summer 1999.
	Member of the 1998 YMAC National Writer’s Voice Readings Tour, including Terry Tempest Williams, George Plimpton, and others.
	Storm on The Desert, Harcourt, 1997, one of seven honor books on the John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers, the American Museum of Natural History, New York.
	Storm on The Desert, Harcourt, 1997, Honor Book, Society of School Librarians International, 1997.
	“Professor for a Day,” The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 1985, given to honor alumni of achievement.
	The Goodnight Circle, Harcourt, 1984, Award for literary merit, from The Friends Of American Writers, Chicago, IL.
	The Goodnight Circle, Harcourt, 1984, one of fifty outstanding science trade books, National Association of Science Teachers and the Children’s Book Council.
	First place in ceramic sculpture, North County Artist’s Guild, St. Louis, MO, 1969.

Author:

Books:
	The Doctor Bones Discoverer’s Journal, Dr. Bones Education, 2002.
	Explorer’s Journal, CL Creative Press, 2001
	Spots: Counting Creatures from Sky to Sea, Harcourt, 1999.
	Storm on The Desert, Harcourt, 1997.
	Dig Hole, Soft Mole, Harcourt, 1996.
	Great Crystal Bear, Harcourt, 1996.
	What a Wonderful Day to Be a Cow, Alfred Knopf, 1995.
	The Knees Knock Again, Oakwood Press, 1989.
	Flamingo Knees, Oakwood Press, 1988.
	The Goodnight Circle, Harcourt, 1984.

Articles:
	“Bear Quest,” Polar Bears Alive Newsletter, 1995.
	“Growing Up: Possibilities and Choices,” Growing Times, 1992.
	“I Thought All Authors Were Dead”, The Missouri Reader, 1990.
	“Measuring Up to Dreams,” Children’s Book Market, 1986.

Poetry:
	“Nantucket At First Sight,” Nantucket Magazine, August 2002.

Publisher:
	Explorer’s Journal, CL Creative Press, 2001.
	The Knees Knock Again, Oakwood Press, 1989.
	Flamingo Knees, Oakwood Press, 1988.

Designer:

Liturgical and secular fiber art commissions for churches, schools, office buildings and hospitals in the United States and South America.

Artist:

Hand-formed and wheel-thrown ceramic sculptures.

Photographer:

Color-saturated nature and abstracts; landscapes, portraits, nautical scenes, and fine art travel photographs.

Education:

B.S. Elementary Education, The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Additional study:

Fine art, Florissant Valley Community College, St. Louis, MO
Writing for Children and Teenagers, Institute of Children’s Literature, Redding Ridge, CT.

Certifications:

State of Missouri Public School Life Certificate, Grades 3-7.

Personal:

Mother of four adult children: a daughter, Anne, and three sons, Christopher, Michael, and Peter; and grandmother of Dylan and twins Charlotte and Eleanor. Lives in St. Louis, MO, travels extensively to research her books, visit friends, and photograph the beauty of this world.