TURCK, Mary C. 1950-

PERSONAL: Born September 7, 1950, in Litchfield, MN; married Ronald P. Salzberger, June 11, 1988; children: Molly, Macy. Education: University of Chicago, B.A. (psychology), 1970; Loyola University School of Law, J.D., 1975; College of St. Thomas, M.A. (pastoral studies), 1984.

ADDRESSES: Home—2212 St. Anthony Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Private legal practice, Litchfield, MN, and Chicago, IL; West Town Legal Services, Chicago, founder and director, 1975-76, 1979-80; University Student Legal Services, University of Minnesota, director, 1980-83. Freelance writer, editor, and curriculum developer. Has lectured widely on land issues and Central America. Former teacher in public schools, universities, and prisons.

WRITINGS:

Facts about Alcohol and Tobacco, Crestwood House (Mankato, MN), 1988.

Facts about AIDS, Crestwood House (Mankato, MN), 1988.

Chicago, Illinois, Crestwood House (New York, NY), 1989.

Washington, D.C., Crestwood House (New York, NY), 1989.

Jewish Holidays, Crestwood House (New York, NY), 1990.

Facts about Crack and Cocaine, Crestwood House (New York, NY), 1990.

Acid Rain, Crestwood House (New York, NY), 1990.

A Parent's Guide to the Best Children's Videos and Where to Find Them, Houghton-Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1994.

The Mexican War of Independence, Lucent Books (San Diego, CA), 1997.

Blizzard!: Snowstorm Fury, Perfection Learning (Logan, IA), 1999.

Haiti: Land of Inequality, Lerner (Minnesota, MN), 1999.

(With Nancy Johnson Black) Guatemala: Land of the Maya, Dillon Press (Parsippany, NJ), 1999.

(With Nancy Johnson Black) Honduras: Hunger and Hope, Dillon Press (Parsippany, NJ), 1999.

The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with Twenty-one Activities, Chicago Review Press (Chicago, IL), 2000.

Healthy Snack and Fast-Food Choices, LifeMatters (Mankato, MN), 2001.

Food and Emotions, LifeMatters (Mankato, MN), 2001.

Healthy Eating for Weight Management, LifeMatters (Mankato, MN), 2001.

The War at Home: The United States in 1968, Perfection Learning (Logan, IA), 2002.

The Dirty Thirties: The United States from 1929-1941, Perfection Learning (Logan, IA), 2002.

A Country on the Move: The United States from 1900-1929, Perfection Learning (Logan, IA), 2002.

Contributor to Issues in Sexuality, Wm. C. Brown, 1985. Editor of environmental books for Macmillan publishers and Connection to the Americas, a bimonthly newsletter, 1986—. Author of "Land Notes," a newspaper column, 1985-92. Articles published in Utne Reader, Minnesota Monthly, Star Tribune, Minnesota Women's Press, Christianity and Crisis, Denver Post, Grand Forks Herald, St. Paul Pioneer Press, and others.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Celebrating Mexico and Central America: An Activity Book for Kids, for Chicago Review Press; Jacinta, a young-adult novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Mary C. Turck has written on a wide variety of nonfiction topics for young adults, from health issues such as nutrition, disease, and drugs to historical topics such as the civil rights movement and early-twentieth-century history. Writings on Honduras and Guatemala draw upon the author's long-term interest in Central America, just as a book on acid rain explores the author's environmental concerns. In works such as Food and Emotions and Healthy Eating for Weight Management, Turck encourages the adoption of a healthy lifestyle through making smart food choices. In Food and Emotions the author examines food as a set of chemicals that can trigger reactions in the body, including cravings, and alterations in blood-sugar levels and brain chemistry. In Healthy Eating for Weight Management food is put in context with exercise and other lifestyle choices that strongly affect weight. These books both provide a wealth of information "in a clear, informative manner," remarked Joyce Adams Burner in School Library Journal.

Turck is also the author of The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with Twenty-one Activities, a chronicle of the quest for true equality under the law for African Americans in the United States that culminated in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. An important difference between this book and others on the same topic is the author's focus on the participation of children in marches, sit-ins, and other actions. The movement for civil rights was fought by a large number of groups, and Turck is careful to delineate between the different groups and their preferred tactics. The achievements of the civil rights movement are enumerated, and the author offers a pathway to future improvements in civil rights for all. "The text is tightly written with a strong voice that rings out in its recounting of past injustices," Pamela K. Bomboy asserted in School Library Journal.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Book Report, September-October, 1999, Sheila Acosta, review of Guatemala: Land of the Maya, p. 70.

School Library Journal, June, 1990, Rosanne Cerny, review of Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C., p. 129; January, 1991, Janie Schomberg, review of Jewish Holidays, p. 100; April, 1991, Meryl Silverstein, review of Acid Rain, p. 144; February, 2000, Diane Olivo-Posner, review of Haiti: Land of Inequality, p. 139; October, 2000, Pamela K. Bomboy, review of The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with Twenty-one Activities, p. 192; July, 2001, Joyce Adams Burner, review of Food and Emotions and Healthy Eating for Weight Management, p. 122.