Hulme, Joy N.

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Hulme, Joy N.

PERSONAL: Female. Ethnicity: "Anglo-Saxon."

ADDRESSES: Home and office—15941 Viewfield, Monte Sereno, CA 95030.

CAREER: Writer. Worked as newspaper circulation manager and self-employed floral designer.

MEMBER: Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (corresponding secretary, 1989–92; member of board of directors, NorCal chapter, 1991–2001).

AWARDS, HONORS: Writing award, Ensign (magazine), 1978; citations for outstanding science trade book, 1991, and children's choice, 1992, both for Sea Squares; award from California Writers' Contest.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN, EXCEPT AS NOTED

The Illustrated Story of President Lorenzo Snow, illustrated by B. Keith Christensen, Eagle Systems (Provo, UT), 1982.

The Illustrated Story of President George Albert Smith, illustrated by B. Keith Christensen, Eagle Systems (Provo, UT), 1982.

The Illustrated Story of President David O. McKay, illustrated by B. Keith Christensen, Eagle Systems (Provo, UT), 1982.

A Stable in Bethlehem, illustrated by J. Ellen Dolce, Western Publishing (Racine, WI), 1989, published as A Stable in Bethlehem: A Christmas Counting Book, illustrated by Dan Andreason, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

The Other Side of the Door, Deseret Books (Salt Lake City, UT), 1990.

Sea Squares, illustrated by Carol Schwartz, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1991.

Climbing the Rainbow (sequel to The Other Side of the Door), Deseret Books (Salt Lake City, UT), 1992, revised version, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

What If? Just Wondering Poems, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev, Boyds Mills (Honesdale, PA), 1993.

Counting by Kangaroos, illustrated by Betsy Scheld, Scientific American Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Sea Sums, illustrated by Carol Schwartz, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Donna W. Guthrie) How to Write, Recite, and Delight in All Kinds of Poetry, Millbrook (Brookfield, CT), 1996.

Eerie Feary Feeling: A Hairy Scary Pop Up Book, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Bubble Trouble, illustrated by Mike Cressy, Children's Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Through the Open Door, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Wild Fibonacci: Nature's Secret Code Revealed, illustrated by Carol Schwartz, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2005.

Lookout Brigade: A Novel, Covenant Productions (American Fort, UT), 2005.

Mary Clare Likes to Share, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell, Random House (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to adult periodicals, including Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, and Sunset.

SIDELIGHTS: Joy N. Hulme's first major children's book was A Stable in Bethlehem. Since it first appeared in 1989, this counting book has become a Christmas favorite. Hulme followed Stable with The Other Side of the Door and Climbing the Rainbow, middle-grade historical books about a young girl who rises above a disability; and Sea Squares, which combines three of her loves—"math, biology, and wonderful words." In this picture book, the author introduces young children to the concepts of multiplication and square numbers through rhyming scenarios featuring creatures from the ocean. Hulme relied upon a similar format in Sea Sums, in which the concepts of addition and subtraction are introduced in rhymes detailing the antics of other sea animals. Critics noted that both of these books attempt to fill a need for math-concept books for early readers. Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan praised the abundance of information about coral reefs and their inhabitants, along with the visual and verbal reinforcement of the numerical concepts introduced, all of which make Sea Sums "a useful supplement to science and math units."

In Counting by Kangaroos Hulme once again uses nature to teach math. She encourages children to count by twos, threes, and so forth, by picturing groups of Australian marsupials as they jump out of the pouches of three kangaroos. The text is composed of "verse lively as a jump rope rhyme," according to Suzy Schmidt in Horn Book. Hulme's poetry collection, What If? Just Wondering Poems, was described by a reviewer for Publishers Weekly as a "cheery collection of 29 poems about animals." In this book, Hulme begins with "childlike questions" about nature, and proceeds with "wry speculations about animals," in language that is "simple and conversational," explained Lee Bock in School Library Journal. The result is a book that is "thoughtful and quietly humorous," Bock commented, also noting its appeal for both pre-readers and those more advanced. For middle-graders who want to write their own poetry, Hulme prepared How to Write, Recite, and Delight in All Kinds of Poetry with coauthor Donna W. Guthrie. Using examples written by children, the authors introduce the basic concepts of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, and then proceed to the various forms of poetry, including free verse and haiku. School Library Journal critic Jean Pollock praised the "open, appealing, and approachable format" used in this work, and the applicability of the examples to a variety of age groups.

In describing her career, Hulme observed: "At an age when most people have retired, my writing career was just beginning. No life is long enough to run out of fresh surprises if we watch out for them…. I like to be accurate about facts, fanciful about fiction, and to combine truth and imagination—to make learning as much fun for others as it is for me by creating in a lighthearted manner…. It is my aim that a child of any age can become a little better in some way as a result of reading what I have written."

Hulme later added: "Thanks to the novel The DaVinci Code, which made the word 'fibonacci' familiar to millions of readers, I was able to convince the editor at Tricycle Press that the timing was right for my children's book about that fascinating number sequence to be published. Fibonacci numbers are fascinating elements in music, art, architecture, math, nature, and other fields. The book Wild Fibonacci: Nature's Secret Code Revealed describes their relationship to life-saving traits of animals."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1991, review of Sea Squares; p. 701; December 1, 1996, Carolyn Phelan, review of Sea Sums, p. 662.

Horn Book, July-December, 1995, Suzy Schmidt, review of Counting by Kangaroos, p. 31; spring, 1997, review of How to Write, Recite, and Delight in All Kinds of Poetry, p. 148.

Publishers Weekly, June 21, 1993, review of What If? Just Wondering Poems, p. 104.

School Library Journal, January, 1992, Christine A. Moesch, review of Sea Squares, p. 103; August, 1993, Lee Bock, review of What If?, p. 158; February, 1996, Martha Topol, review of Counting by Kangaroos, p. 85; December, 1996, JoAnn Rees, review of Sea Sums, p. 114, and Jean Pollock, review of How to Write, Recite, and Delight in All Kinds of Poetry, p. 130.

Washington Post Book World, October 11, 1998, review of Eerie Feary Feeling: A Hairy Scary Pop-up Book, p. 11.