Lynne Cherry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lynne Cherry
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| Born | January 5, 1952 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Tyler School of Art Temple University Yale University (MA) |
| Genre | Children's literature |
Lynne Cherry (born January 5, 1952) is an American author and artist. She writes and illustrates children's books about nature. She also makes films. In 2009, she was honored during Women's History Month.
Contents
Early Life
Lynne Cherry was born in Philadelphia. She studied art at the Tyler School of Art. She also got a teaching degree from Temple University. Later, she earned a master's degree in history from Yale University.
Books and Art
Lynne Cherry is famous for writing and illustrating many popular children's books. She also started two non-profit groups. These are the Center for Children's Environmental Literature and Young Voices for the Planet.
She has been an artist-in-residence at many places. This means she was a special guest artist. Some of these places include Princeton University, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Famous Books
Lynne Cherry's most famous book is The Great Kapok Tree. It has sold over a million copies. It was also on the New York Times best-seller list. This picture book teaches about the importance of the Amazon rainforest. Many schools use it and perform it as a play or musical.
Lynne has written or illustrated over 30 books. Some other popular ones are:
- How Groundhog's Garden Grew
- Flute's Journey (about a bird's long trip)
- A River Ran Wild (about cleaning up the Nashua River in Massachusetts)
Films for the Planet
Since 2008, Lynne has focused on climate change. She wants to show how young people can help. She started a non-profit called Young Voices on Climate Change, also known as Young Voices for the Planet.
Through this group, she has made 13 short films. These films are called the Young Voices for the Planet series. They aim to inspire young people. They show how kids can make a difference. These films have been shown on PBS stations across the country. They are also used by teachers to help kids believe in their own power to create change.
Young Voices for the Planet Films
Cherry's films show amazing stories of young people:
- Team Marine shows kids in California who helped ban plastic bags.
- Dreaming in Green features students in Florida. They saved their school a lot of money on energy bills.
- Plant for the Planet tells about 11-year-old Felix Finkbeiner from Germany. He planted a million trees!
- In Save Tomorrow, three 9-year-old girls are inspired by other films. They speak at a town meeting. They convince their town to allow solar panels. Now, solar panels are on all town buildings.
- Olivia's Birds and the Oil Spill is about a girl from New York. She raised $200,000 to help birds hurt by an oil spill.
- Longing for a Local Lunch shows how students got fresh, local food in their cafeteria.
- The film Words Have Power features ten-year-old Jaysa Mellers. She spoke to her city council. Her words helped shut down a power plant that was causing her asthma.
Lynne Cherry also wrote chapters for other books. These include "Kids Can Save Forests" in Treetops at Risk. She believes in teaching about climate change with hope and solutions.
Awards and Recognition
Lynne Cherry's book How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate won over 15 awards. It was named the Best Middle School Science Book of 2009. Her book The Sea, the Storm and the Mangrove Tangle won the first Green Earth Book Award for picture books in 2005.
Lynne Cherry has been an Artist in Residence at many important places. These include Princeton University, the Smithsonian, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has also been a visiting scholar at places like the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
