PAST  ARCHIVES...

Snowboard Twist is the third in the Outdoor Adventure Series written by Jean Craighead George and illustrated by Wendell Minor. Grits, the perky wilderness dog, is not saved this time, he does the saving! Autumn, 2004 publication.

Charlie's Raven is Jean's novel about this uncanny, magical bird that has baffled people for centuries. Her brothers, nephews, nieces, in-laws, kids, grandkids and raven scientists have all contributed their stories to this book. Wait until you meet BLUE SKY, the raven! Autumn, 2004 publication.

When Axel and his family take a rafting trip down the swift Salmon River, they sense little risk when smoke appears in the quiet, dry wilderness. Suddenly, orange flames flash dangerously near, and Axel isn't so sure of their safety anymore. Before long, they are caught in a blazing forest and must search for a safe hideout. Will Axel and his family make the right call before the roaring fire gets too close?

In the newly-released Fire Storm, the second story about the adventures of Axel, acclaimed nature writer Jean Craighead George and award-winning artist Wendell Minor recount the riveting tale of a fearsome fire storm and the cycle of regeneration that follows.

ut  of the swamp and into the bookstores...Tree Castle Island! This is  the story about the boy, Jack, who solved a greater mystery than the old  Indian myth he was pursuing when he paddled into the Okefenokee Swamp,  Georgia, one day. This new survival book was released on April 25, 2002.

Right on its heels came the  publication of Cliff Hanger . This is  the first  of a series of adventure books for 5 to 9 year-olds. Wendell Minor's  glorious illustrations bring Axel's adventurers to life. Wendell climbed  cliffs, hiked trails, and lived through thunderstorms with me when we went  to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to photograph my adventurous grand nephew,  Scotty, as "Axel." Scotty belayed and swung on ropes on the  cliffs for the illustrations.

Also  available now is the musical version of One Day in the Tropical  Rain Forest. Recorded  Books has released this version of Jean's book. She is reading  the story to the music Chris Kubie has composed. Chris weaves into the calls of rain forest birds and  mammals, the chants, nose flutes and paddle instruments of the indigenous  people. To hear a one minute audio excerpt of the this production, please click  here for an MP3 clip (1138K) or click  here for a RealAudio clip (917K)!

Early in the morning, young Tepui walks through the Venezuelan tropical rain forest. Colorful birds call from the treetops, and a tribe of monkeys plays in the branches. But Tepui doesn't have time to enjoy the animals he loves so much. He is going to the Science Laboratory to talk to his scientist friends.

Today, trucks and bulldozers are heading to the forest. They are bringing men to cut down the trees. Many plants will die, and the animals will no longer have homes. Tepui and his friends want to think of a way to save the forest. But are they too late?

At left is a photo of Jean sitting  with her friend, Koda, who is one of animal trainer Doug Seus's wolf  actors.

everal  years ago, Jean's thirteen books of the Thirteen Moons went out of  print. There were many requests to reprint them, and that is what the  HarperCollins Trophy Paperbacks editor has done!

The thirteen book series has now  been made into four books entitled, Seasons Of The Moon, telling  about wild animals in their far-flung American environments.

The Autumn Moon and the Winter  Moon came out in October, 2001. The  spring and summer seasons will be released in February, 2002. The new book  will have some of the original art.

Now you can read them and listen to  the glorious Music of the Thirteen Moons, written by composer Chris  Kubie . It is available at Amazon.com.  You can sample sample some of Music of the Thirteen Moons on  Chris's website by clicking  here .

Coming up in Spring, 2001 is the  first in the series of adventure books, starring the boy Alex and his dog  Grits. The first book in the series is called Cliffhanger. Wendell  Minor went out to Wyoming and hung from cliffs in order to illustrate  it. Jean sat below and wrote.

lso  coming out in the Summer of 2001 is a new survival book for young adults, Tree  Castle Island. Jean and her daughter Twig and Twig's family  paddled into Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp to experience the poltergeist of  the bog. Rebecca and Katie , Jean's granddaughters, survived  and went home  to write essays in school entitled "What I Did On Thanksgiving."

Thank you for your inquiries about  the movie Julie of the Wolves. Progress is being made and details  will be available soon right here on this website!

maroq,  the little brother of Julie of the Wolves, now has his own story in  the book Nutik, The Wolf Pup. Illustrated by the famous Ted Rand,  it will be available in the autumn of 2000. Ted went to Barrow, Alaska, to  sketch the "real" tundra and town where Julie and her brother  live. Jean's son, Craig George, showed Ted and his wife the sights and  beauties of his own home town of Barrow on the Arctic Ocean. A second book  in the series, Amaroq and Nutik Play Ball will be published in the  spring of 2001.

Jean Craighead George's Julie of  the Wolves is on Oprah Winfrey's Oprah's  Book Club Kids' Reading List!

Jeanie Rosenberg, screenplay writer for Black  Stallion, Fly Away Home , and other great films, has written the  screenplay for Julie of the Wolves.

MILLENNIUM NOTES...
ulie  of the Wolves was named one of the  best children's books of the past l00  years by amazon.com   and Children's Literature Society.

Frightful's  Mountain was singled out by the New York Times as  one of the Notable Children's Books of 1999.

USA Today selected Frightful's  Mountain as 1 of 6 excellent children's books of 1999.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR  CHRISTMAS!...
How To Talk To Your Cat
written by Jean Craighead George illustrated by Paul Meisel

How To Talk To Your Dog
written by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Sue Truesdell
Both published by HarperCollins

PERKING ALONG IN 2000...
The musical of Julie of the Wolves
Music by Chris Kubie
Book by Barbara Dana and Jean Craighead George
Lyrics by Jean Craighead George

The movie of Julie of the Wolves
Doug Seus, the trainer of Bart the Bear and other glorious animal stars, reports that the  wolf he named Amaroq lies down and plays dead, stalks, leaps, looks where Doug asks him to look and plays  with 13 year-olds every day. Doug is also training Silver, and Nails, who also love  people. They all go down to the mall to walk around, look and mingle with people.

Okefenokee Swamp or A  Call From The Swamp or ???
(still working on the right title!)
A novel about a boy who paddles into the strange reality of this vast swamp in Georgia.  Jean writes, "I'm on chapter three. My granddaughters, Rebecca and Caity  Pittenger and their parents, and also my grand nephew, Kyle Haynam, paddled with me in  November1999 into this eerie and oh, so different environment. 'Neat place,' said  Kyle."

am Gribley's beloved falcon, Frightful, takes the spotlight in the new  book Frightful's Mountain, the third in the My Side of the  Mountain series. Spiralling above Sam's head, waiting for Sam to call her back,  Frightful hears the call of the wild and takes off. From that moment on, life as a wild  peregrine falcon is one crisis after another. The book is in bookstores starting in  mid-September, 1999.

he magic ice of the Arctic Ocean creates  magnificent sculptures from time to time. On a spring day a glorious ship of ice is thrown  against the sky by the sea currents. Bessie sees it and wants to sail to beautiful places.  It is also seen by a polar bear mom and her cub.  And herein lies the story of a little girl and a bear cub. Snow Bear is  written by me and illustrated by my good friend, Wendell Minor. This time he outdid  himself. Take one look at his illustrations and you'll clap.

he movie of Julie of the Wolves is in production. Doug  Seus, the partner and trainer of Bart, the grizzly bear, is raising little wolf pups to be  Amaroq, Silver and Nails. I went to Heber Valley, Utah, this summer where the pups are  romping with the Seus family and gave Amaroq a bottle. I fed Silver her beef soup, and  held Nails in my arms while he slept.  They are friendly, loving little pups and becoming more so under Doug and his wife,  Lynne's warm and loving training. These wolves will grow up to be the stars. When the  movie is being shot, Kapu, the alpha pup, will be born and Doug will teach him his  so-called "lines." What a great show this is going to be!

On Saturday, November 14, 1998, Jean Craighead  George and daughter Twig C. George accepted Children's Book Guild Non-Fiction  Awards in Washington, D.C.!Jean Craighead George has received  17 awards for her contribution to children's literature.

nother  new Jean Craighead George book, Morning,  Noon and Night, is now available! It is a story for younger kids about the  journey of the sun from Maine across the savannahs, the prairies, the mountains, and the  deserts of America to set on the west coast...and come around again.

Wendell Minor has illustrated this book with  paintings showing his love of America's landscapes and animals. His art is alive and  vibrant. Not only does the book present America from coast to coast, but tells children  what the animals are doing morning, noon and night.

Wendell and Jean worked closely on landscapes and  animals to give the feeling of America's diversity. It is a selection of the Book of the  Month Club. (Published by HarperCollins 10 E.53rd Street, New York, N.Y., 10023).

Here's a shot of Jean with a young peregrine  falcon, Oksi, belonging to Jon Wood of Roxbury, NY. Jon and Oksi both are characters in  her new book Frightful's Mountain, which will be out in 1999.

Jean Craighead George, Barbara Dana and composer Chris Kubie are working on a children's musical of Julie  of the Wolves. As soon as they finish editing, they will be speaking with a  number of interested producers.

new book it out! Dear  Katie, The Volcano Is A Girl, illustrated with glorious eruptions and a  ravishing Pele, the volcano princess by Daniel Powers. Katie's grandmother thinks that a  volcano is a geophysical phenomenon caused by the movements of the earth's crust. But  Katie thinks that the volcano is Pele, a Hawaiian goddess. As each argues her point, it  soon becomes clear they they are "both" right! Full color.

he  l998 Empire State Award for Excellence in Literature for Young People was awarded  to Jean Craighead George, October 10, 1998 in Rochester, N.Y. Previous recipients include  Maurice Sendak, Madeleine L'Engle, Leo and Diane Dillon and Russell Freedman.

nspired by the writings  of Jean Craighead George, Chris Kubie  has just released on CD a musical interpretation of her renowned series of books entitled The Thirteen Moons, fromHarperCollins, New York. For this series of books she has based her stories on the Native American  calendar, marked by the thirteen moons each year brings to us. She has named each moon  after a North American animal and brings to the reader a new appreciation of each one.

The Music of the Thirteen Moonsconsists  of a series of thirteen instrumental pieces, subtlely working through a circle of fourths,  each piece evoking the ambiance of its companion book. However, one need not possess the  books to fully appreciate the music. It stands alone. From the haunting Moon  of the Owls to the frenetic Moon of the Chickarees,  the music evokes visions which are limited only by the imagination of the listener. It  will delight the most sophisticated listeners, and their children.

You can listen to sound bites from The  Music of the Thirteen Moons at Chris Kubie 's website. It can be  purchased on line at IUMA (http://chriskubie.iuma.com)  or by phone by calling 1-800-850-IUMA, starting around May 20th, 1998.

13 Moons  artwork © Wendell Minor; all rights reserved

ean Craighead George and  Barbara Dana (r), author, screen play writer, actress and wolf lover with the  wolves at Doug Sues's Utah ranch. Doug trained Bart, the grizzly bear, who appeared on the  1998 Oscar Award presentation and in the film "Bear." Jean and Barbara are  communicating with the wolves the better to understand them as they collaborate on a  musical of "Julie of the Wolves." Composer Chris  Kubie is composing the music with drum beats, wolf calls and songs he hears in the  Arctic wind and snow.

n Oregon, nine hundred teachers and their 30,000 children have enjoyed the  work of the Art Institute, founded by Annie Painter, a former principal and art  consultant. They bring books to life. Ms. Painter read One Day in the Tropical  Rain Forest to children to inspire them to create butterflies and tropical  foliage from hand painted papers.

Their work is breath-taking.

Meanwhile knowing that the tropical rain forest was  also full of exciting music, Jean Craighead George and Chris  Kubie obtained sounds from the Oronoco River Basin - birds singing, mammals  communicating, and native people playing nose flutes and chanting. Then Jean read her book  aloud and Chris underscored it with music inspired by and using the magical sounds of the  tropical rain forest.

This CD/cassette will soon be available.

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Email: jeangeorge1@verizon.net

I am not a very reliable e-mail  correspondent.
I try to answer everyone, but my schedule is heavy and I'm off and going places.
But know that I love to hear from you even if I can't answer.
Thank you all for your thoughts!
P.S.-If you do send me e-mail,please make sure that your return  e-mail addressis correct so that I can respond to you. Thank you!

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