Joan Sandin author/illustrator/translator

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Sandin is a Swedish name. You pronounce it san-deen. Here I am with my brother Tom riding a "bucking bronco" My first book was hardly a Best Seller. My first book was one I illustrated for a story my brother Tom had written. Tom was eight years old and I was five. It was set in a cave, and all the pictures took place in the dark. Only one person bought that book - our mother. I think we each got a quarter. Come to think of it, that's the same split I have today when I illustrate another author's picture book - 50/50. I Studied Art in College. I graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Art. Besides Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking, I took a lot of other classes - like Physics, Philosophy of Aesthetics, and Spanish. I wasn't much good in Physics, but I loved the Philosophy class because it was all about why things are considered beautiful or artistic. And of course I've found Spanish very useful all my life. I used to live in Sweden. I lived in Stockholm, Sweden for fifteen years (in the 1970's and part of the 80's.) My ex-husband is Swedish and both of my children were born in Sweden. I lived there so long I was able to write some children's books in that language. I also translate Swedish children's books into English. I almost forgot to mention that my grandfather, Gustaf Gideon Sandin, was born in Falun, Sweden.

ABOUT ME I grew up in Tucson, Arizona. I was born in Watertown, Wisconsin on moving day - not very considerate of me was it? My family lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington state before settling in Tucson, Arizona. My parents had never been in the Southwest before we moved here, and they didn't know too much about it - except that it was hot. But when they looked at a map of Tucson and saw there were two rivers running through the town, they thought it couldn't be all that bad - you could always cool off with a swim. Big surprise! When we arrived in August the two Tucson rivers were (as they usually are) bone dry. But my parents liked the sunshine, and they thought playing tennis was a lot more fun than shoveling snow. So they stayed. My brother Tom and I grew up in Tucson, and our little sister Lynn was born here. Tucson was a small town back then. I walked a mile to grade school through the desert, with roadrunners and quail for company - and we lived right in the middle of town! I Always loved to draw pictures. I liked to make puppets and perform shows for my friends. (Looks like I might have charged them 2¢ to watch!) I was about 11 when I drew this picture of one of my puppet shows.   I don't remember a time when I wasn't drawing pictures. When I was about four I went to a kindergarden that had child-size easels with big pads of white paper and pots of paint. I was in heaven! At school I got to do the drawings for posters, and of course Art was always my favorite subject. I had a favorite artist too - Norman Rockwell. I borrowed a big book from the library with all of his Saturday Evening Post covers. My friends were nice enough to look at them and join the fan club I started for him. We never told Norman Rockwell anything about our club. We thought he was too famous to care, but maybe we were wrong about that... I Like to play volleyball, travel and hike. This picture of my husband, Brian, and me hiking in Bryce National Park, Utah was taken by my daughter, Jenny, who is a graduate student at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Her brother, Jonas, is a journalist in Stockholm, Sweden. Brian has three children: Jennifer, Ian and Matthew, who live in Washington state, Hawaii and Minnesota. They all have families of their own, making me a lucky step-grandmother to eleven grandchildren!   All text and art copyright © Joan Sandin. All rights reserved. No text or image may be reproduced without the express written consent of the author/illustrator.

CHECK OUT THESE BOOKS! AT HOME IN A NEW LAND An easy-to-read book about Carl Erik's first months as a new immigrant in Minnesota. Third book in the Long Way trilogy. COYOTE SCHOOL NEWS Monchi's own story about his Mexican pioneer family, their Arizona ranch, and the 1938-39 school year at his one-room school. THE LONG WAY TO A NEW LAND An easy-to-read book about Carl Erik and his family who leave Sweden to come to America in 1868. THE LONG WAY WESTWARD An easy-to-read book about the emigrant train ride from New Jersey to Minnesota in 1868. A sequel to The Long Way to a New Land HILL OF FIRE Thomas Lewis' easy-to-read book about the Mexican farmer who discovered a volcano in his field! pictures by Joan Sandin SMALL WOLF Nathaniel Benchley's easy-to-read story about Small Wolf, who lived near the island of Manhattan a long time ago. pictures by Joan Sandin DANIEL'S DUCK Clyde Robert Bulla's easy-to-read story about Daniel who carves a very special duck. pictures by Joan Sandin SNOWSHOE THOMPSON Nancy Smiler Levinson's easy-to-read story about the Norwegian who skis across the mountains to carry the mail. pictures by Joan Sandin A BEAR FOR MIGUEL Elaine Marie Alphin's easy-to-read story about how Maria finds a way to help her family. pictures by Joan Sandin Quick Links E-mail me with questions or comments. CHAUTAUQUA PRESENTATION Check out this website! Authors Guild

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