Author and illustrator of educational children's books
Bonnie Shemie (born May 10, 1949) is an author and illustrator who has written educational books for children including a series about
Native American dwellings.[1][2] She was born in the U.S. and lives in Canada.
Her writing focuses on different cultures' pre-modern construction techniques, as well as their belief systems.[3]
Life and career
Shemie (née Brenner) was born on May 10, 1949, in
Cleveland, Ohio to parents William and Louise Brenner.[1] She studied architecture in the United States before moving to
Montreal, Canada, in 1972.[4] In 1974, she married Milo Shemie.[1] From 1973 to 1976, she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for advertising agencies in Montreal. She went on to pursue a career as a freelance illustrator, and later as an author and illustrator of children's books.[1]
Shemie's Native Dwellings series started with the book, Houses of Snow, Skin and Bones: Native Dwellings, the Far North, published in 1989.[1] The book was aimed at children and contained detailed descriptions of the homes built by
Inuit tribes in Alaska.[1] The work was praised and Noel McDermott in
Canadian Children's Literature called it "a well-written and beautifully illustrated book, in which carefully researched information is presented, clearly and accurately and without any tendency to eulogize or romanticize."[1]
Shemie's book Houses of China was described as "excellent".[3] Her book Houses of Hide and Earth was described as accessible and appealing while Shemie's research for her books was lauded.[5]
^Hoyte, Carol-Ann (Fall 2002).
"Building America". Montreal Review of Books. AELAQ (Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec). Retrieved 8 May 2020.