Christina Wilsdon, Writer
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Science and natural history are the stuff of most of my books and magazine articles, but I also like to try my hand at writing about other topics. I'm quite fond of "weird facts," for example (a fascination that provided fodder for the monthly "True But Strange" feature I wrote for the Children's Television Workshop's magazine Kid City from 1986 into the early 90s). I also enjoy writing fiction, light verse, and essays. You'll find some of that material included here in this round-up of assorted works.
Not only do I like animals and plants, I also like refrigerators and all the things inside them. So I was delighted to be asked to write How Do Refrigerators Work? (Chelsea House, 2009). I also wrote How Do Islands Form? for the same publisher.
If you think refrigerators are cool, you can find out about other objects and how they work in my book Everyday Things (Franklin Watts, 2001). (Did you know that people wrote with pencils for at least 300 years before the eraser was invented? The rubber eraser, that is. Before people invented this nifty device, they used wads of bread to rub out mistakes.) 
Dragons, pirates, cowgirls, voracious blenders, and mismatched socks fill the pages of 2nd Grade Reading Skill Builders (Sylvan Learning, 2009), a workbook I delighted in writing because it offered the luxurious indulgence of playing with words, crafting funny poems, and writing punchy emails, all in the name of helping kids work on building their reading skills.
I have also enjoyed writing biographies for young readers, and was honored to be asked to write about diver Sammy Lee for Zaner-Bloser's "Voices" reading program. In addition to Sammy Lee, I also wrote Swimming the English Channel; Jesse Owens; Cuba; The Camels of Egypt; Traveling in South Korea; Wildlife on the East African Savannah; Hurricanes; Hyenas; Caves; Manatees; and a work of fiction entitled Caterpillar Countdown.
What on Earth Is a Platypus? is a book I wrote for a series of Time for Kids readers published by Macmillan/McGraw Hill. It explores the mysteries, hoaxes, and confusion surrounding the classification and identification of this animal after Western scientists first encountered it. I've also written several other books for this series: How Farming Took Root; Hidden Food Webs; and Desert and Ocean.
I am especially honored by my association with the Audubon Society and my history of writing for its environmental-education school newspaper Audubon Adventures. This program, which includes four full-color newspapers on different topics as well as a teacher guide and other materials, has been named one of the Top Ten environmental programs in K-12 schools. I have written articles and activities for this series, as well as teacher guides, on topics as diverse as dragonflies, habitat, backyard birds, and gray whales. Following a lynx will lead you deep into a snowbound Canadian evergreen forest, but following these links will take you to two of my essays online:
"Galloping with Scissors," Austinmama.com: http://austinmom.com/gallopingwithscissors.htm
"The Mama ABCs," Austinmama.com:
http://www.austinmama.com/themamaabcs.htm
