Frieda Wishinsky (born July 14, 1948) is a German-born Canadian educator and author of children's books. The daughter of Polish-Jewish parents, she was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and grew up in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. She received a BA in International Relations from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

and a

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

Special Education from Ferkauf Graduate School. She has taught

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

for children and adults in the United States, Israel and Canada. She now lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Wishinsky's first book was ''Oonga Boonga'' (1990). Her work has been translated into French, German, Hungarian, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Korean, Spanish and Catalan.

Selected work

* ''Each One Special'' (1998) illustrated by Werner Zimmermann, shortlisted for a

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

* ''Please, Louise!'' (2007) illustrated by

Marie-Louise Gay Marie-Louise Gay (born June 17, 1952) is a Canadian children's writer and illustrator. She has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and English, including the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, multiple Governor G ...

, received the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award * ''Maggie Can't Wait'' (2009) illustrated by

Dean Griffiths Dean Horace Griffiths (born 27 January 1980 in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica) is a male hurdler from Jamaica, who represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He set his personal best (48.55) while winn ...

, received the

Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize The Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize is awarded annually as the BC Book Prize for Canadian authors and illustrator of picture books, picture story books, and illustrated non-fiction books. The prize is shared by the author an ...

* ''You're Mean, Lily Jean'' (2009) illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, shortlisted for the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award * ''Explorers Who Made It…or Died Trying'' (2011) illustrated by Bill Dickson * ''Halifax Explodes'' (2011) illustrated by P. A. Lewis-MacDougall *''Profiles: Freedom Heroines'' (2012) was named a top ten book for the Amelia Bloomer Book List in 2014 * ''A History of just About Everything'' (2013) with Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Leng Qin, finalist for the

Norma Fleck Award The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is a lucrative literary award founded in May 1999 by the Fleck Family Foundation and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and presented to the year's best non-fiction book for a youth aud ...

and was named a Best Book by the Bank Street Children's Book Committee * ''Avis Dolphin'' (2015) illustrated by

Willow Dawson Willow Dawson is a Canadian cartoonist and illustrator, whose works include ''The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea'' with author Helaine Becker (Kids Can Press), ''Hyena in Petticoats: The Story of Suffragette Nellie McClung'' (Penguin Books Ca ...

, shortlisted for the

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

Canada Violet Downey Book Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wishinsky, Frieda 1948 births Living people Canadian women children's writers Writers from Manhattan Educators from Manhattan German emigrants to Canada