Williams, Arlene

Personal

Born in PA. Education: M.Ed. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, canoeing, camping.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Dutton, Penguin Putnam, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer and illustrator. Teacher of environmental education; has worked as a trail builder and Greyhound bus driver.

Member

Authors Guild, Author's League of America.

Awards, Honors

Smithsonian Notable Book designation, Society of School Librarians International Best Picture Book designation, and Children's Book Council (CBC) Children's Choice designation, all 1995, all for Dragon Soup; CBC Children's Choice designation, 2003, for Tales from the Dragon's Cave.

Writings

Fairy Tales for the New Age, illustrated by Joyce Rossie, Waking Light Press (Sparks, NV), 1992, second edition, 1995.

Winker, Buttercup, and Blue, illustrated by Joyce Rossie, Waking Light Press (Sparks, NV), 1994.

(And illustrator) Tales from the Dragon's Cave: Peacemaking Stories for Everyone, Waking Light Press (Sparks, NV), 1995.

Dragon Soup (picture book), illustrated by Sally J. Smith, H.J. Kramer (Tiburon, CA), 1996.

Tales of Spirit, Tales of Light, Waking Light Press (Sparks, NV), 1997.

How to Be a Dragon … without Burning Your Tongue, Waking Light Press (Sparks, NV), 2003.

Tiny Tortilla, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Author's works have been translated into Arabic by a British nonprofit organization dedicated to building literacy in Palestinian children whose schooling has been disrupted by war.

Sidelights

A lover of the out-of-doors and an avid writer, Arlene Williams has let her particular fascination with dragons guide much of her work as a children's book writer. Among her books for young readers are the picture book Dragon Soup and the novel How to Be a Dragon … without Burning Your Tongue, as well as Tales from the Dragon's Cave: Peacemaking Stories for Everyone, a fiction collection that combines dragon lore, magic, and strategies for resolving conflicts large and small. In a break from fire-breathers, Williams has also penned the picture book Tiny Tortilla, a story about a young boy whose lunchtime tortilla reshapes itself into a variety of useful objects when he follows the instructions of the elderly tortilla seller and pats the treat in just the right way. Writing in Booklist Hazel Rochman wrote that the story's repetitive text "make[s] for a fun read-aloud," while a Kirkus Reviews writer cited Williams' "charming" story for illustrating "the importance of imagination and perseverance."

In the Asian-inspired Dragon Soup readers meet Tonlu, a young woman who is forced against her will to marry a merchant in order to clear her father's debt to the man. Escaping to the land where the Cloud Dragons live, she hopes to steal one of the precious pearls that grow there and use it to repay the debts that would otherwise require her to marry. When her presence is discovered by two of the land's resident dragons, Tonlu fears her planned theft of the dragon's treasured pearls will cost her life, but the creatures have another use for the girl. Asked to settle an ongoing argument as to which dragon makes the better soup, the girl must devise an answer that pacifies both parties. Ilene Cooper, writing in Booklist, noted that Williams' book serves as "an interesting conversation starter," while a Publishers Weekly critic praised the author's "feisty original tale" and "spirited heroine."

On her home page, Williams described what motivates her to keep writing. "Always the dreamer, always wanting to see beyond the ordinary world of my life, I delight in conjuring up new magical horizons for you, my reader, to head for. My aim is to expand your idea of what might be possible and perhaps help you know yourself a little deeper than before."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Dragon Soup, p. 1831; July, 2005, Hazel Rochman, review of Tiny Tortilla, p. 1931.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2005, review of Tiny Tortilla, p. 745.

Publishers Weekly, May 6, 1996, review of Dragon Soup, p. 80.

Reading Teacher, October, 2003, review of Tales from the Dragon's Cave: Peacemaking Stories for Everyone, p. 175.

School Library Journal, June, 1996, Jerry D. Flack, review of Dragon Soup, p. 111; August, 2005, Anne Knickerbocker, review of Tiny Tortilla, p. 108.

Skipping Stones, June-August, 1996, review of Tales from the Dragon's Cave, p. 31.

Smithsonian, November, 1996, review of Dragon Soup, p. 165.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2003, review of How to Be a Dragon … without Burning Your Tongue, p. 69.

ONLINE

Arlene Williams Home Page, http://arlenewilliamsbooks.com (May 5, 2006).

BookReview.com, http://www.bookreview.com/ (May 5, 2006), Kathy Brummond, review of How to Be a Dragon … without Burning Your Tongue and Tales from the Dragon's Cave.