Ditchfield, Christin 1973-

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Ditchfield, Christin 1973-

PERSONAL:

Born 1973. Religion: Christian.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sarasota, FL. Office—Take It to Heart Ministries, P.O. Box 1000, Osprey, FL 34229. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Christian speaker, radio personality, and writer. Take It to Heart (two-minute daily devotional radio program), host; speaker at conferences.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

Cowlick!, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw, Random House (New York, NY), 2007.

SERIES NONFICTION; FOR CHILDREN

Sports Great Michael Chang, Enslow Publishers (Springfield, NJ), 1999.

Kayaking, Canoeing, Rowing, and Yachting, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Swimming and Diving, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Top Ten American Women's Olympic Gold Medalists, Enslow (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2000.

Wrestling, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Gymnastics, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Cycling, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Martina Hingis, introduction by Hannah Storm, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2001.

Wood, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Water, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Soil, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Coal, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Joseph E. Johnston: Confederate General, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

Oil, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Condoleezza Rice: National Security Advisor, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2003, revised edition published as Condoleezza Rice: America's Leading Stateswoman, 2007.

Johnny Appleseed, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Golf, Children's Press (Danbury, CT), 2003.

Ice Hockey, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Memorial Day, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Presidents' Day, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

The Shoshone, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Tennis, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Volleyball, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Bible Heroes of the Old Testament, illustrated by Ande Cook, Golden Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Knowing Your Civil Rights, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Serving Your Community, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Freedom of Speech, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2004.

The Comanche, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Louisa May Alcott: Author of Little Women, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2005.

The Choctaw, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

The Blackfoot, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

The Shoshone, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 2005.

The Chippewa, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

The Arapaho, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

The Crow, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Spanish Missions, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Bono, Cherry Lake Publishing (Ann Arbor, MI), 2008.

OTHER

A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia," Crossway (Wheaton, IL), 2003.

Take It to Heart: Sixty Meditations on God and His Word, Crossway Books (Wheaton, IL), 2005.

The Three Wise Women: A Christmas Reflection, Crossway Books (Wheaton, IL), 2005.

A Family Guide to "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," Crossway Books (Wheaton, IL), 2005.

A Family Guide to "Prince Caspian," Crossway Books (Wheaton, IL), 2007.

Author of gospel tracts for Good News Publishers. Contributor to periodicals, including Focus on the Family, Today's Christian Woman, Sports Spectrum, and Power for Living. Author of column "Everyday Theology" for Today's Christian magazine for three years.

SIDELIGHTS:

Christin Ditchfield is known to many as the host of Take It to Heart!, a daily Christian radio program that airs throughout the United States and Canada as well as in Central and South America. A popular speaker, she is also a writer who has published widely in Christian periodicals. In addition, Ditchfield is also a prolific author of series nonfiction for young readers, her topics ranging from sports to biographies to books about the earth's natural resources. Discussing her book Condoleezza Rice: America's Leading Stateswoman, Hazel Rochman wrote in Booklist that Ditchfield does "a good job of relating the personal life story to the history of the times." Noting the author's obvious admiration for her subject, School Library Journal reviewer Mary Mueller cited the emphasis placed on Rice's "intellect, integrity, and hard work" as she left her native Birmingham, excelled at Stanford University, and rose to the position of Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. Ditchfield's texts for the book series that includes Oil, Water, and Soil are "simply written, informative, and well organized," according to Booklist critic Gillian Engberg, and School Library Journal contributor Kate Kohlbeck deemed the author's "brief, yet quite thorough" prose in Golf and Tennis and "just the thing for eager young sports fans."

Ditchfield turns to fiction in her entertaining picture book Cowlick!, a story brought to life in entertaining illustrations by Rosalind Beardshaw. In Ditchfield's unusual porquois tale, an overly affectionate cow creeps into a bedroom and gives slurpy kisses to each of the two children sleeping there. The next morning the children awake to find that the cow's lick has created the hair-style of the book's title. Calling Cowlick! a "charming bovine comedy," Booklist contributor Stephanie Zvirin concluded that "even very young children will get the joke" in Ditchfield's amusing story. In School Library Journal, Julie Roach praised the book's "short, lively text" and "appealing rich and textured paintings," while a Kirkus Reviews writer insisted that "brevity and true whimsy imbue this breezy bedtime rhyme."

Several of Ditchfield's books serve as companion volumes to the popular faith-based fiction of British writer C.S. Lewis. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" books are full of biblical themes, and in A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia," as well as several related titles, Ditchfield provides a reader's guide that identifies and discusses the Christian roots of the series that includes The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; and A Horse and His Boy. In addition to providing the location of Scriptural references, the author also expands on the Christian themes running through Lewis's literary classic, making A Family Guide to Narnia useful to students as well as general readers.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 1999, review of Sports Great Michael Chang, p. 1339; August, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of Swimming and Diving, p. 2143; October 15, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of Oil, p. 420; December 15, 2003, Hazel Rochman, review of Condoleezza Rice: America's Leading Stateswoman, p. 747; January 1, 2007, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Cowlick!, p. 113.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2006, review of Cowlick!, p. 1218.

Publishers Weekly, January 1, 2007, review of Cowlick!, p. 48.

School Library Journal, June, 2003, Kate Kohlbeck, review of Golf and Tennis, p. 125; January, 2004, Pamela K. Bomboy, review of President's Day, p. 113; January, 2007, Julie Roach, review of Cowlick!, p. 90; February, 2007, Mary Mueller, review of Condoleezza Rice, p. 134.