Resau, Laura 1973–

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Resau, Laura 1973–

Personal

Born 1973, in Baltimore, MD; married; husband's name Ian. Education: St. Mary's College, B.A.; University of Arizona, M.A. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, reading, dancing.

Addresses

Home—Fort Collins, CO. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer, educator. Previously taught English as a second language (ESL) in Oaxaca, Mexico; Front Range Community College, Fort Collins, CO, cultural anthropology and ESL teacher.

Awards, Honors

Parents' Choice Award, Parents' Choice Foundation, 2006, for What the Moon Saw; Puffin Foundation grant; Arts Alive fellowship; Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant.

Writings

What the Moon Saw (for children), Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of essays on Mexico to Lonely Planet and Travelers' Tales anthologies, and of creative nonfiction for children to periodicals including Cicada, Cricket, and Skipping Stones.

Sidelights

Laura Resau spent the first decade of her life running and playing in the alleys of Baltimore. When she was eleven, her family moved to the suburbs, and Resau became enchanted with the woods and streams and fields that she could freely explore. After graduating from college, she decided to travel and explore more aspects of the world. She went to Oaxaca, Mexico, where the small university offered her a job. She spent two years there, meeting people, learning Spanish, and experiencing the culture and stories of the region. Her time in Mexico led her to study cultural anthropology at the University of Arizona, where she earned her master's degree.

Resau returned to the United States and began to teach English as a second language (ESL) and cultural anthropology at Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, Colorado. She also began to write, inspired by her travels and her love for storytelling. Her essays on Mexico have appeared in the anthologies Lonely Planet and Travelers' Tales, and her creative nonfiction for children has been published in various periodicals, including Cricket. Her first children's book, What the Moon Saw, tells the story of Clara Luna, a fourteen-year-old Mexican-American girl, as she learns about her heritage and how her father came to the United States. In a review for Kliatt, Janis Flint-Ferguson wrote that What the Moon Saw, "is a beautifully told story of finding oneself by holding on to ancient traditions." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews found Resau's effort to be full of "evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all."