Monica Gunning

Monica Gunning (born 1930) is a Jamaican American children's book author and poet. Her work deals with both the Caribbean of her childhood and the immigrant experience.

Biography

Gunning was born in Jamaica in 1930. She moved to New York City at age 18. There, she studied at the City University of New York.[1][2]

Her first book of poetry for children, Not a Copper Penny in Me House: Poems from the Caribbean, was published in 1993, with illustrations by Frané Lessac.[3] The anthology of 15 poems about Jamaican culture received a commendation from the Américas Awards for children's and young adult literature.[4][5]

Subsequent works included Under the Breadfruit Tree: Island Poems (1998) and America, My New Home (2004).[6][3][7] Gunning brings her own experience as both a child in Jamaica and a young immigrant to the United States to her work.[8][9][10]

Her 2004 book about a girl and her mother dealing with homelessness, A Shelter in Our Car, was developed in collaboration with the Homeless Children's Network in San Francisco.[11] It received a Skipping Stones Honor Award in 2005 and an honorable mention from the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Awards in 2004.[12][13]

A Shelter in Our Car was adapted into a children's musical by the New York theater company Making Books Sing in 2007.[14][15]

Gunning also holds a master's in education from Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles and has studied at the University of Guadalajara.[2][7] She had a long career as an elementary school educator, working for many years as a bilingual teacher in Los Angeles and teaching English as a second language. She was also a training teacher at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.[16][7][2]

Selected works
  • Not a Copper Penny in Me House (1993)
  • Under the Breadfruit Tree (1998)
  • America, My New Home (2004)
  • A Shelter in Our Car (2004)

References
  1. "Monica Gunning". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  2. "Monica Gunning". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  3. "Monica Gunning". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  4. O'Brien, Jason. "Women's Voices from the Caribbean: An Annotated Bibliography". National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  5. "Annotated List of 1994 Titles" (PDF). Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP). 1994.
  6. "Shelter in Our Car". University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  7. Vardell, Sylvia M. (2007). Poetry people : a practical guide to children's poets. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-0-313-09474-3. OCLC 232575502.
  8. Roula Bousalis, Rina (2014-07-01). "The Portrayal of Immigrants in Children's and Young Adults' American Trade Books During Two Peak United States Immigration Eras (1880-1930 and 1980-2010s)". University of South Florida.
  9. Under the Breadfruit Tree. Kirkus Reviews. 1989-02-01.
  10. America, My New Home. Kirkus Reviews. 2004-11-15.
  11. J, Spun (2020-04-29). "It's a Big World After All: Diversity in Picture Books". Writers' Program at UCLA Extension. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  12. "Diverse Families: A Shelter in Our Car". University of Central Florida Libraries.
  13. "A Shelter In Our Car". Theater Mania. 2007. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  14. BWW News Desk (2006-12-19). "Children's Musical A Shelter in Our Car to Tour NYC". Broadway World. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  15. BWW News Desk (2007-01-12). "New Musical 'Shelter' to Play to Over 100 Homeless Families". Broadway World. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  16. McCarty, Marietta, 1947- (2006). Little big minds : sharing philosophy with kids. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-58542-515-0. OCLC 71506823.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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