Fitzsimons, Cecilia 1952–

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Fitzsimons, Cecilia 1952–

(Cecilia A.L. Fitzsimons)

PERSONAL: Born May 28, 1952, in Welling, Kent, England; daughter of Martin and Eileen King; married Steve Fitzsimons (a lecturer), 1973; children: one son, one daughter. Education: Westfield College, University of London, B.S. (with honors), 1973; University of Leicester, post-graduate research, 1973–74; Portsmouth University, Ph.D., 1981.

ADDRESSES: Office—Woodstock Lodge, 25 Hazelgrove, Clanfield near Waterlooville, Hampshire P08 0LE, England.

CAREER: Author and illustrator.

WRITINGS:

Step-by-Step: Fifty Nature Projects for Kids, photographs by Anthony Pickhaver, Smithmark (New York, NY), 1995.

Animal Habitats, illustrated by Adam Hook, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (Austin, TX), 1996.

Animal Lives, illustrated by Adam Hook, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (Austin, TX), 1996.

Animals of the World, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1996.

Creatures of the Past, illustrated by Chris Forsey, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (Austin, TX), 1996.

Water Life, illustrated by Helen Ward, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (Austin, TX), 1996.

(With Marion Elliot and Petra Boase) One Hundred Things for Kids to Make and Do, Ultimate Editions (London, England), 1996.

Giant Pandas Eat All Day Long, illustrated by Mike Atkinson and Jo Moore Copper Beech Books (Brookfield, CT), 2000.

Wolves Howl at the Moon, illustrated by Mike Atkinson and Jo Moore, Copper Beech Books (Brookfield, CT), 2000.

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

(With Eleanor Lawrence) An Instant Guide to Trees: Nearly 200 of the Most Common North American Trees Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Bonanza (New York, NY), 1985.

Pop-Up Field Guides: My First Birds, Harper (New York, NY), 1985.

(With Pamela Forey) An Instant Guide to Mammals: The Most Familiar Species: North American Mammals, Bonanza (New York, NY), 1986.

Pop-Up Field Guides: My First Butterflies, Harper (New York, NY), 1985.

(With Pamela Forey) An Instant Guide to Wildflowers: The Most Familiar Species: North American Wildflowers, Bonanza (New York, NY), 1986, published as Letts Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers, Letts (New York, NY), 1990.

Pop-Up Field Guides: My First Fishes and Other Waterlife, Harper (New York, NY), 1987.

Pop-Up Field Guides: My First Insects, Spiders and Crawlers, Harper (New York, NY), 1987.

(With Pamela Forey) Letts Pocket Guide to Insects (originally published by Malcolm Saunders [London, England]), 1987, Letts (New York, NY), 1992, published as An Instant Guide to Insects: The Most Familiar Species of North American Insects Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Pamela Forey) An Instant Guide to Butterflies: The Most Familiar Species of North American Butterflies Described and Illustrated in Full Color (originally published, 1987), Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Pamela Forey) An Instant Guide to Seashells: The Most Familiar Species of North American Seashells Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Malcolm Saunders (London, England), 1987, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Pamela Forey) Letts Pocket Guide to Stars and Planets (originally published by Malcolm Saunders [London, England], 1988), Letts (New York, NY), 1991, published as An Instant Guide to Stars & Planets: The Sky at Night Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Seashore Life of North America, Bonanza (New York, NY), 1989, published as An Instant Guide to Seashore Life: The Plants and Animals of the North American Seashore Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2003.

What Can I See?: In the Field, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1990.

What Can I See?: In the Playground, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1990.

What Can I See?: In the Woods, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1990.

What Can I See?: At the Seaside, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1990.

Sainsbury's Book of the Sea, Walker (New York, NY), 1991.

Pocket Pull-Outs: Rivers and Ponds, Studio Editions (London, England), 1992.

Pocket Pull-Outs: The Seashore, Studio Editions (London, England), 1992.

Pocket Pull-Outs: Trees and Woodlands, Studio Editions (London, England), 1992.

Pocket Pull-Outs: Animals in Danger: A Nature Guide, Studio Editions (London, England), 1993.

Sainsbury's Book of Birds, Walker (New York, NY), 1994.

Clever Clogs, Wild Animals, Henderson, 1994.

Sainsbury's Animals of the World, Shaw's (London, England), 1995.

All about Food: Fruit, Silver Burdett (Parsippany, NJ), 1996.

All about Food: Vegetables and Herbs, Silver Burdett (Parsippany, NJ), 1997.

All about Food: Cereals, Nuts and Spices, Zoe (Winchester, England), 1997.

All about Food: Dairy Foods and Drinks, Zoe (Winchester, England), 1997.

Sainsbury's Dangerous Animals, Shaw's (London, England), 1997.

(With Pamela Forey) An Instant Guide to Edible Plants: The Most Familiar Edible Wild Plants of North America Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Crescent Books (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Pamela Forey) An Instant Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: The Most Familiar Species of North American Reptiles and Amphibians Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Crescent Books (Avenel, NJ), 1997.

An Instant Guide to Small Pets: A Complete Guide to the Wide Range of Small Pets, from the Most Common to the Exotic, Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Malcolm Saunders (London, England), 1999, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2000.

(With David Burn) An Instant Guide to Horses: More Than 100 of the World's Breeds Described and Illustrated in Full Color, Malcolm Publishing (London, England), 1999, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2000.

ILLUSTRATOR:

Pamela Forey, Wild Flowers: Learning to Identify, Macdonald (London, England), 1984.

Ron Wilson, The New Dictionary of Dinosaurs, Grafton (London, England), 1986.

Ron Wilson, 100 Dinosaurs from A to Z, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1986.

Jennifer Cockrane, Air Ecology, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1987.

Jennifer Cockrane, Land Ecology, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1987.

Jennifer Cockrane, Plant Ecology, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1987.

Jennifer Cockrane, Water Ecology, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1987.

Eva Fejer and Steve Frampton, Letts Pocket Guide to Rocks and Minerals (originally published by Malcolm Saunders [London, England], 1988, Letts (New York, NY), 1991, published as An Instant Guide to Rocks & Minerals: The Most Familiar Rocks and Minerals of North America Described and Illustrated in Full Color, edited by Pamela Forey, Gramercy Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Claire Littlejohn, The Modern Ark: The Endangered Wildlife of Our Planet, Dial (New York, NY), 1989.

Andreas Bubel, Microstructure and Function of Cells: Electron Micrographs Cell Ultrastructure, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1989.

Rosie Harlow and Kuo Kang Chen, Energy and Growth, Warwick Press (New York, NY), 1991.

Simon Perry, A First Guide to Insects, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1991.

Simon Perry, A First Guide to Trees, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1991.

Philip Steele, Extinct Insects, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1992.

Philip Steele, Extinct Land Mammals, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1992.

Jane Charman, Life Goes On, and On …, Thornes (Cheltenham, England), 1992.

Henry Gee and Steve McCormick, Letts Pocket Guide to Fossils, Letts (New York, NY), 1992.

Simon Perry, A First Guide to Garden Birds, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1993.

Simon Perry, A First Guide to Pond Life, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1993.

Pamela Forey, Letts Pocket Guide to Sea and Seashore Life: The Most Common Species of European Fish and Other Marine Life, Letts (New York, NY), 1994.

Lewis Peake, Your Body, Henderson (Woodbridge, England), 1994.

Sue Finnie, Countries of the World, Henderson (Woodbridge, England), 1995.

(With David Hogg) Philip Steele, Deserts, Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 1996.

SIDELIGHTS: Cecilia Fitzsimons writes and illustrates science books for children and young adults, garnering praise both for the photographic clarity of her line drawings and watercolor paintings of plant, sea, and animal life, and for her straightforward, informative texts. Working with both standard formats and paper engineering like pop-ups and pull-outs, the prolific Fitzsimons creates field guides on a variety of subjects in the natural world, such as animals, birds, insects, fish, trees, and bodies of water; she also addresses such topics as food and nature projects for children.

As an illustrator, Fitzsimons has provided the pictures for informational books for children and adults by such writers as Ron Wilson, Jennifer Cockrane, Simon Perry, and Philip Steele; these writers explain such subjects as dinosaurs, ecology, cells, the human body, and countries of the world. Regarding the books for which she has provided both text and pictures, Fitzsimons is acknowledged for creating attractive, well-designed works that are both educational and entertaining. Several of her self-illustrated books have captured high marks as works fit for both indoor reading and for taking into the field as an aid to observation.

Fitzsimons is consistently praised for creating works with the potential to inspire children to explore the natural world; in several of her works, in fact, she includes space for children to keep a record of their sightings. In general, Fitzsimons's numerous science and nature titles for children are warmly received for their brightly colored pictures and interesting texts; several volumes, in particular those which use the pop-up format, are especially well regarded for their ability to draw in reluctant readers.

Born in Kent, England, Fitzsimons was trained as a scientist. She received a degree in the biological sciences (zoology, botany, and paleontology) from the University of London and her Ph.D. in marine cell biology research from Portsmouth University; in addition, she did postgraduate work at the University of Leicester, studying insects from Malayan rainforests. She began her publishing career as an illustrator, and her pictures are often said to be a positive addition to science texts aimed at middle-grade readers.

In a School Library Journal review of Philip Steele's Extinct Insects and Extinct Land Mammals, Barbara B. Murphy praised Fitzsimons's contribution to the books, saying the illustrator's "eye-catching, colorful illustrations … highlight every page." Fitzsimons's "What Can I See?" series amply fits the bill on both accounts, according to some critics. In a Junior Bookshelf review of What Can I See?: In the Playground, a book in which a number of views of the same playground scene highlight a variety of plants and animal life that the watchful observer may find, the critic wrote: "This is a beautifully presented information book," and particularly praised the illustrations, which are characterized as having "the clarity and detail of photographs." Similar qualities were found by Growing Point reviewer Margery Fisher regarding What Can I See?: At the Seaside and What Can I See?: In the Field; Fisher characterized these books as capable of fostering the interest of nature-minded children through text and pictures that are "essentially simple but in no way pedestrian or condescending."

Fitzsimons's first creations as an author/illustrator were pop-up field guides, a series that, while aimed at an audience in the early primary grades, have also been deemed useful in drawing in older reluctant young scientists due to the popularity of the pop-up format. A contributor to Publishers Weekly, reviewing My First Butterflies and its companion volume, My First Birds, which was dubbed "equally marvelous" by the critic, claimed: "Fitzsimons is a gifted artist [who creates] beautiful full-color paintings." The critic was enthusiastic about these first installments in the pop-up series, noting that they present "accurate and readily accessible information as well as esthetic rewards," courtesy of the author-artist's colorful, detailed paintings of numerous butterflies in their natural habitats. Likewise, a reviewer of My First Fishes and Other Waterlife in Publishers Weekly called this book "a field guide in the best sense, one that appeals to the armchair reader or someone observing the creatures firsthand."

Reviewing My First Insects, Spiders and Crawlers in the Christian Science Monitor, Diane Manuel predicted that the book "could provide hours of entertainment in a meadow or beside a pond…. [A] good start for the fearless explorer." Fitzsimons offers practical advice to dedicated young scientists in Step-by-Step: Fifty Nature Projects for Kids, a book that includes science experiments and artistic activities for both indoor and outdoor settings. According to School Library Journal reviewer Kristin Lott, Fitzsimons "emphasizes safety, nature conservation, and the importance of respecting property rights when exploring" in this work.