Children's writer visits UD, speaks about education
Nancy George
Issue date: 10/13/04 Section: News
Scott is now a non-fiction writer whose books reflect a child-like curiosity about how things work.
"What I really do is write stories. They happen to be true stories about how things work," Scott said. Her books including Poles Apart: Why Penguins and Polar Bears Will Never be Neighbors and Adventure in Space: The Flight to Fix the Hubble seek to answer the many questions children may have about these subjects.
"I want to give my readers a reason to care about the subject...to learn about science and people who risk and have risked their lives to go there," she said.
Scott, however, does not give children just the basic facts. Rather, she engages the children so they share vicariously in the adventures of scientists, astronauts, and explorers.
A good children's book should have a stimulating subject, a defining theme, a unifying structure, and beautiful prose, Scott said. She tries to captivate her readers in the beginning lines to tell them a story about true events.
Scott reminds new teachers that children have many questions; and though adults may not be able to answer all of them, they should take time to listen and help the children find the answers they need.
Maria Wilke, writer, said "It is not the answers that show us the way but the questions," and this is the principle Scott lives by and hopes future teachers will, too.
Research for Scott's books begins the moment she is inspired by her curiosity. Once she proposes the idea to her editors and it is approved, the research process begins.
Scott spends time not only studying books but visiting scientists in NASA or gathering information in the Arctic. She goes behind the scenes to get a direct glance.
This process takes a minimum of six months; then she is ready to begin drafting her book. Once the final draft is ready to be published, a period of 18-24 months has already passed.
Scott's research has not gone unrewarded. Her books have won various accolades: Adventure in Space won the 1996 Children's Literature Choices and 1995 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; Close Encounters: Exploring the Universe with the Hubble Space Telescope won the 1999 American Institute of Physics Award and was named 1999 Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association.
Scott is currently working on two new books: The Spanish Web: an Art Encounter with Picasso, due out in 2005, and a book titled Reading Rocks, which explores the mysterious planet Mars and will be available in the near future.
Many of Scott's previous books are out of print; however, the newly released Poles Apart: Why Penguins and Polar Bears Will Never be Neighbors is currently available at major book retailers.
"What I really do is write stories. They happen to be true stories about how things work," Scott said. Her books including Poles Apart: Why Penguins and Polar Bears Will Never be Neighbors and Adventure in Space: The Flight to Fix the Hubble seek to answer the many questions children may have about these subjects.
"I want to give my readers a reason to care about the subject...to learn about science and people who risk and have risked their lives to go there," she said.
Scott, however, does not give children just the basic facts. Rather, she engages the children so they share vicariously in the adventures of scientists, astronauts, and explorers.
A good children's book should have a stimulating subject, a defining theme, a unifying structure, and beautiful prose, Scott said. She tries to captivate her readers in the beginning lines to tell them a story about true events.
Scott reminds new teachers that children have many questions; and though adults may not be able to answer all of them, they should take time to listen and help the children find the answers they need.
Maria Wilke, writer, said "It is not the answers that show us the way but the questions," and this is the principle Scott lives by and hopes future teachers will, too.
Research for Scott's books begins the moment she is inspired by her curiosity. Once she proposes the idea to her editors and it is approved, the research process begins.
Scott spends time not only studying books but visiting scientists in NASA or gathering information in the Arctic. She goes behind the scenes to get a direct glance.
This process takes a minimum of six months; then she is ready to begin drafting her book. Once the final draft is ready to be published, a period of 18-24 months has already passed.
Scott's research has not gone unrewarded. Her books have won various accolades: Adventure in Space won the 1996 Children's Literature Choices and 1995 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; Close Encounters: Exploring the Universe with the Hubble Space Telescope won the 1999 American Institute of Physics Award and was named 1999 Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association.
Scott is currently working on two new books: The Spanish Web: an Art Encounter with Picasso, due out in 2005, and a book titled Reading Rocks, which explores the mysterious planet Mars and will be available in the near future.
Many of Scott's previous books are out of print; however, the newly released Poles Apart: Why Penguins and Polar Bears Will Never be Neighbors is currently available at major book retailers.