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MEET JOAN DUNNING (4/2011)
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Joan Dunning

I liked to explore out of doors and I liked to draw and paint.  I also liked to fish and swim.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

MINN OF THE MISSISSIPPI by Holling C. Holling.  I was fascinated with the little sketches that he put in the margins of his books to give more information.  I always wanted to do books like this and so I have.  Any books that were illustrated by the great illustrator, N.C. Wyeth.  I loved that he did his illustrations in oils for the Scribner Classics series.  Seabird in the Forest in the first book that I have created using oil paints and I am very excited about this. The BILLY AND BLAZE books.  I loved that the illustrator did this illustrations in pencil. This made it seem very possible to illustrate books and I copied all of his illustrations, which taught me a lot about drawing horses.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

I made illustrated picture books when I was in elementary school and wrote longer stories when I was in junior high school and high school.  I often did these stories just for fun, though I also did them for school.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up? 

Yes, I began saying I would write and illustrate children’s picture books when I was about ten.

When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)

Yes, I had considered myself an artist and a writer since I was in high school.
I majored in art and creative writing at the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  I was writing stories and painting.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

I began designing floats for the Rose Parade in Pasadena when I was still in college.  I was, at that time, the youngest person who had ever designed floats.  Our contracts were often over 100,000 dollars, so it was a big responsibility.  I loved it and often did a lot of the sculpture on the floats.  The floats, at that time, were about 55 feet long and 17 feet high, so it was very exciting to see what began as a sketch turn into a giant float going down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.  My first float, for the City of Los Angeles, won a major award.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

 I received about ten rejections.  My first book, THE LOON: VOICE OF THE WILDERNESS, sold over 125,000 copies!

What are the topics are some of your books?

The common loon, birds’ nests, how animals leave home, the redwood forest and the marbled murrelet.

What gave you the idea for SEABIRD IN THE FOREST? 

I live in a redwood forest and I hike in the redwoods almost every day.  Old growth forests have gotten very scarce, however.  Most of them have been cut down. Less than 5% of old growth forests remain, nationwide. SEABIRD IN THE FOREST is about the marbled murrelet, which is an endangered species in the southern part of its range.  As a result, it has been used to protect ancient forest because timber companies are not supposed to cut down trees where murrelets are nesting. 

Which of your books did you most enjoy writing?

I loved writing SECRETS OF THE NEST because all of the different ways that birds nest are so fascinating! Copies can be purchased through my website: joandunning.com

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

When I was in school, I remember a man coming in and teaching us how to draw a redwood tree.  It was like magic!  No adult had ever taught me how to draw anything!  I thought it was the most useful thing I had ever learned in school.  So, when I do school visits, I like to show the students how to draw something well, so they really understand it and can feel proud.  Also, once, someone else came into our school and taught us about the birds that are known as “dippers.”  I felt the same way about this experience.  It seemed extremely interesting and useful.  I remember he told how dippers have clear eyelids that are like goggles so the birds can see underwater.  I loved this!  So, I teach students interesting details about nature.