Schembri, Pamela 1969-

Personal

Born 1969. Education: College degree.

Addresses

Home—Montgomery, NY.

Career

Librarian and author. Highview Elementary School, Nanuet, NY, media specialist.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

(With Peter Catalanotto) The Secret Lunch Special, illustrated by Catalanotto, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Peter Catalanotto) No More Pumpkins, illustrated by Catalanotto, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Peter Catalanotto) The Veteran's Day Visitor, illustrated by Catalanotto, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2008.

OTHER

Scary Stories You Won't Be Afraid to Use: Resources and Activities for a K-6 Audience, Linworth Publishing (Worthington, OH), 2001.

Using Scary Stories in the Classroom: Lesson Plans, Activities, and Curriculum Connections, Linworth Publishing (Worthington, OH), 2002.

Contributor of reviews to Book Report.

Sidelights

Pamela Schembri, a librarian and working in New York state, has also established authorial credits through her work with author/illustrator Peter Catalanotto. Their "Second Grade Friends" series, which includes the books No More Pumpkins, The Secret Lunch Special, and The Veterans Day Visitor, provide budding bookworms with a painless and entertaining introduction to chapter books.

In The Secret Lunch Special readers meet Emily as she embarks on her first day of second grade. When Emily leaves her new lunch bag on the seat of her school bus, worries over what she will have for lunch soon take center stage in a book that Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan deemed "a good choice" for young readers. Emily returns in No More Pumpkins, as she and her class study pumpkins, make pumpkin art, and write pumpkin stories. After her carved Jack o' lantern is intentionally damaged by bossy classmate Vincetta Louise, the second grader feels hurt, until Emily understands the feelings that prompted Vinni's act. The Veterans Day Visitor, described by Horn Book critic Robin L. Smith as a "welcome addition" to classroom discussions of the contributions of U.S. servicemen and women, also features line art by Schembri's coauthor, Catalanotto. Phelan, in a review of No More Pumpkins, praised the book for its realistic elementary-school setting and "wide range of true-to-life emotions." Comparing the "Second Grade Friends" books to popular beginning readers by Barbara Park and Patricia Reilly Giff, School Library Journal critic Kelly Roth added that No More Pumpkins is an enjoyable contribution to Schembri and Catalanotto's series.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Secret Lunch Special, p. 134; August, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of No More Pumpkins, p. 62.

Horn Book, September-October, 2006, Robin Smith, review of The Secret Lunch Special, p. 575.

School Library Journal, May, 2002, Mary Lankford, review of Scary Stories You Won't Be Afraid to Use: Resources and Activities for a K-6 Audience, p. 183; September, 2006, Adrienne Furness, review of The Secret Lunch Special, p. 161; September, 2007, Kelly Roth, review of No More Pumpkins, p. 160.