Bonnie Shemie

Bonnie Shemie (born May 10, 1949) is an author and illustrator who has written educational books for children including a series about Native American dwellings.[1][2] She was born in the U.S. and lives in Canada.

Her writing highlights pre-modern construction techniques as well as the belief systems and natural forces related to them.[3]

Life and career

Shemie (née Brenner) was born on May 10, 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio to parents William and Louise Brenner.[1] She studied architecture in the United States before moving to Montreal, Canada, in 1972.[4] In 1974, she married Milo Shemie.[1] From 1973 to 1976, she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for advertising agencies in Montreal. She went on to pursue a career as a freelance illustrator, and later as an author and illustrator of children's books.[1]

Shemie's Native Dwellings series started with the book, Houses of Snow, Skin and Bones: Native Dwellings, the Far North, published in 1989.[1] The book was aimed at children and contained detailed descriptions of the homes built by Inuit tribes in Alaska.[1] The work was praised and Noel McDermott in Canadian Children's Literature called it "a well-written and beautifully illustrated book, in which carefully researched information is presented, clearly and accurately and without any tendency to eulogize or romanticize."[1]

Shemie's book Houses of China was described as "excellent".[3] Her book Houses of Hide and Earth was described as accessible and appealing while Shemie's research for her books was lauded.[5]

Selected works

Native Dwellings series
  • Houses of Snow, Skin and Bones (1989) - ISBN 0-88776-240-9[6]
  • Houses of Bark: Tipi, Wigwam and Longhouse (1990) - ISBN 0887762468[7]
  • Houses of Wood (1992) - ISBN 0-88776-284-0[8]
  • Houses of Hide and Earth
  • Mounds of Earth and Shell[9]

Others
  • Houses of China (1996) - ISBN 0-88776-369-3[10][11]
  • Building Canada (2001) - ISBN 0-88776-504-1[12][13]
  • Building America by Janice Weaver (2002) - ISBN 0-88776-606-4[14] (Illustrator)

References
  1. Hedblad, Alan, ed. (1998). Something About The Author. Vol. 96. Gale Research. pp. 206-208. ISBN 0-7876-1149-2. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. "Houses of bark : tipi, wigwam and longhouse : native dwellings : woodland Indians / Bonnie Shemie". Smithsonian Institution.
  3. Jurenka, Nancy Allen (May 11, 2001). Hobbies Through Children's Books and Activities. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 9781563087738 – via Google Books.
  4. "Children's book week: Unique homes focus of talk". Times Colonist. 1996-11-07. p. 28. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  5. Peterson, Andie (October 19, 2007). A Second Look: Native Americans in Children's Books. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781452087870 – via Google Books.
  6. Skogan, Joan (November 1989). "Houses of Snow, Skin and Bones - Native Dwellings: The Far North". CM: A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People. Canadian Library Association. 17 (6). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  7. Wells, Joan (1991-01-12). "Book takes informative look at architecture of natives". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 88. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  8. Fry, Patricia (March 1993). "Houses of Wood: Native Dwellings of the Northwest Coast". CM: A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People. Canadian Library Association. 21 (2). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  9. Shemie, Bonnie (March 31, 1995). Mounds of earth and shell: native sites : the southeast. Tundra Books. ISBN 9780887763526 – via Google Books.
  10. Boer, Fred (December 1996). "Houses of China". Quill & Quire.
  11. Bergwerff, Julie (March 1997). "Children's Books". Books in Canada: The Canadian Review of Books. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  12. Lawlor, Patty (March 2001). "Building Canada". Quill and Quire.
  13. Shemie, Bonnie (January 1, 2001). Building Canada. Tundra. ISBN 9780887765049 – via Google Books.
  14. Hoyte, Carol-Ann (Fall 2002). "Building America". Montreal Review of Books. AELAQ (Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec). Retrieved 8 May 2020.
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