Maureen Wartski

Maureen Crane Wartski (born Maureen Ann Crane, January 25, 1940 – January 14, 2014) was a naturalized American author[1] She wrote many novels for children and young adults.[2] Wartski's Eurasian heritage and her deep connection to the natural world inspired many of her novels which address such issues as racism (The Face in My Mirror, Candle in the Wind, A Boat to Nowhere), identity (My Brother Is Special, The Lake Is on Fire, The Promise) and bullying (Yuri's Brush with Magic).[3]

Maureen Wartski
Maureen Wartski in 2009
Born	Maureen Ann Crane (1940-01-25)January 25, 1940 Ashiya, Hyōgo, Japan
Died	January 14, 2014(2014-01-14) (aged 73)
Occupation	author, novels and short stories
Genre	Children's books, Young adult, novels
Notable works	A Boat to Nowhere
Website
www.sleepyhollowbooks.com

Background

Maureen Crane Wartski was born in Ashiya, Hyōgo, Japan, to Albert Edwin Crane, a businessman, and Josephine Wagen Crane, a teacher from Geneva, Switzerland.[1]

Long before she told her first story at 14, Wartski was in love with writing. As a child, she listened to stories and folktales told by her aunts. Inspired by these folktales, and by an uncle who gave her an early introduction to classical literature, Wartski realized that words are magical things. Her Eurasian heritage and a deep connection with the natural world influenced many of Wartski's young adult and middle-grade novels. A former high school English teacher, Wartski conducted writing workshops and authored many books.[4]

Wartski attended the University of Redlands and received a B.A. in 1962 from Sophia University. That same year she became a naturalized U.S. citizen.[5] She married Maximilian Wartski; they had two sons (Bert and Mark Wartski) and three grandchildren (Kate Wartski, Ben Wartski, and Alexcina Wartski). The Wartski's resided in Raleigh, North Carolina. Maureen Wartski passed away on January 14, 2014, due to illness.

Career

Maureen Ann Crane Wartski worked as a history teacher, a reporter and a lecturer on creative writing. Her first juvenile book, My Brother Is Special, was published in 1979.[5] She also contributed plays and short stories to children's magazines such as Highlights, Boys' Life and Scholastic under the pseudonym of M. A. Crane.[6]

In 1980, Wartski won the Josette Frank Award from the Bank Street College of Education for her young adult novel A Boat to Nowhere.[7] In 2010, Wartski wrote her 13th children's book, Yuri's Brush with Magic, an adventure story about a young Japanese-American girl who must spend the summer on the North Carolina coast with her mysterious and magical "Aunt Yuri" from Japan.[8] In Yuri's Brush with Magic, a Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Children's/Juvenile Fiction, Wartski integrates Japanese folk tales, such as Urashima Tarō, and the Ginger Seller, into a contemporary adventure story for a middle school audience.[8][9] Wartski was also an accomplished artist.[10]

Wartski believed that race and ancestry are important parts of identity and used these themes in her writing. Yet it is the similarities, the shared memories that allow her characters—and, she hoped, her readers as well–to move past difference and into friendship and trust.[11]

Bibliography

• Candle in the Wind, 1999, Turtleback Books, ISBN 978-0-613-13338-8
• A Boat to Nowhere, 1980, Signet Books, ISBN 978-0-451-16285-4
• My Brother Is Special, 1979, Westminster John Knox Press, ISBN 978-0-664-32644-9
• The Promise, 2003, Perfection Learning, ISBN 978-0-7891-5936-6
• A Long Way from Home, 1980, Westminster Press, ISBN 978-0-451-11434-1
• The Face in My Mirror, 1994, Random House, ISBN 978-0-449-70443-1
• The Lake Is on Fire,1981, Westminster John Knox Press, ISBN 978-0-664-32687-6
• Yuri's Brush with Magic, 2010, Sleepy Hollow Books, ISBN 978-0-9824542-5-1

Sources

• "The Importance of Multicultural Themes in Writing and Teaching". JSTOR: The English Journal - Vol. 94, No. 3, Jan. 2005, pp. 49–51, by Maureen Crane Wartski
• "Refugees and Immigrants: The Southeast Asian Experience as Depicted in Recent American Children's Books". The Lion and the Unicorn - Volume 23, Number 2, April 1999, pp. 219–237, by Michael M. Levy

References

1. Karen Spillman. "Maureen Wartski Papers". Retrieved 2010-05-17.
2. Sleepyhollowbooks.com/books.html Archived 2007-10-20 at the Wayback Machine from
3. "About Maureen Crane Wartski". JacketFlap. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
4. Official homepage Archived 2010-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2010-05-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Maureen Crane Wartski Biography". Scholastic.
7. Levy, Michael M. (1999). "Refugees and Immigrants: The Southeast Asian Experience as Depicted in Recent American Children's Books". The Lion and the Unicorn. 23 (2): 219–237. doi:10.1353/uni.1999.0019. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2010-05-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-02-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. "Maureen Wartski". FineArtAmerica.
11. Wartski, Maureen Crane (2005). "The Importance of Multicultural Themes in Writing and Teaching". The English Journal. 94 (3): 49–51. doi:10.2307/30046418. JSTOR 30046418.

External links

• Official homepage
• Michael M. Levy, , "Refugees and Immigrants: The Southeast Asian Experience as Depicted in Recent American Children's Books"

The Lion and the Unicorn - Volume 23, Number 2, April 1999, pp. 219–237

• "The Importance of Multicultural Themes in Writing and Teaching" from the JSTOR
• The Maureen Crane Wartski Papers, de Grummond Collection, McCain Library and Archives, University Libraries, University of Southern Mississippi