I've been enjoying my writing career for more than 35 years. While I've focused mostly on writing nonfiction books for children, I've also written in many other genres including travel articles and gardening books for adults.
I'm delighted with the reception for my latest book, "Saving Audie: A Pit Bull Puppy Gets a Second Chance," is now available. School Library Journal gave it a star, and Publishers' Weekly wrote: "This polished photo-essay by frequent collaborators Patent and Muñoz will tug at the heartstrings of readers--especially those sympathetic to the plight of the often-maligned pit bull. In cogent, conversational prose, the author chronicles the rehabilitation journey of one of the dogs rescued in 2007 from NFL quarterback Michael Vick's illegal dogfighting operation." Bill Muñoz and I had a great time visiting Audie and his family, Linda, Bill, and his canine brother, Aldo, in the San Francisco Bay Area. We also got to meet many wonderful people and dogs associated with BAD RAP (Bay Area Dogowners Responsible About Pitbulls). This organization played key roles in giving the vicitims of Vick's operation a chance to become members of loving, caring families. And with the precedent set by that case, vicitims of other dog fighting rings now have the same hope. Audie has his own Facebook page, and website. There you can see more photos and find links to more information about pit bulls. Bill and I hope that Audie's story will help the public realize that pit bulls are no different from other dogs--the most important thing in determining a pet's behavior is how it is raised and trained, not any special inborn traits. In addition to being an author, I love to share what I’ve learned about writing with children, fellow writers, and the public. I’ve been a featured speaker at many conferences and schools, and I’ve taught nuts and bolts workshops on writing for children, as well as sessions on freeing the creative spirit from the restraints of the internal critic. I also work as a consultant with less experienced writers, helping them hone their work to make it more publishable. Learn more about my talks, workshops, & consulting. With the internet, it's now much easier to interact with students through Skype sessions or other means of long-distance visual sharing. I'm also involved in an exciting new endeavor, Ink Think Tank, LLC, a company formed to help teachers and librarians use nonfiction trade books in the classroom. Children love books that are engagingly written, while bland textbooks can turn them off to reading. The data base available without cost at InkThinkTank.com shows how the nonfiction books of two dozen award-winning nonfiction authors can help meet the curriculum standards of America's schools. These books can provide a win-win situation for schools. The children are exercising their reading muscles at the same time they are learning material they need to know. With our Authors on Call service, teachers and students alike can interact with award-winning nonfication writers to help children learn the things they need to know to pass the tests they are required to take. We set up "virtual classrooms," where we can interact on a personal level with our audience, just as if we were in the same room, except one of us may be in New York, another in Montana, and still another in a different location. This school year, we're collaborating with Bogert School in New Jersey, with spectacular results. Check out our online wiki, where the authors and teachers alike write of our work together. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. My home in Missoula, Montana, sits on a half acre of land on a plateau next to Blue Mountain, with the Missoula Valley and the mountains beyond visible from our windows. Sometimes the mountains are obscured by beautiful clouds. On my blog, I have chronicled some of my travels as I do my research and satisfy my curiosity about the world I live in. I let the blog slide for many months, but I get back to it off and on. It includes an entry about my trip to California to meet Audie and his people. I love to take pictures, and I post a photo or two with each entry. I've written about traveling down the Pacific Coast to California, Missoula's recent bout with climate change as record lows for October have been shattered and about visits to the fascinating shortgrass prairie in eastern Montana. Before our harvest season ended so abruptly in 2008, I wrote about peaches and chokecherries and about our wonderful recreation area, the Rattlesnake Valley, where only the minutes from downtown Missoula you can feel alone in nature as you sit beside the beautiful creek or hike through the valley.
I loved writing this book, which describes the positive changes in the ecology of the park that are happening since the wolves came back--healthier willows, more beavers and small predators, more song birds, and more. Wolves have also returned to several western states around Yellowstone, including Montana, and their presence there is also helping restore the natural environment.
The natural world is my favorite place, but human cultures come in a close second. My recent book, The Buffalo and the Indians: A Shared Destiny For useful links and educational resources I've created, click here. You can contact me by email here. |
It's a perfect place for a person who loves nature to live. Across the street is a beautiful meadow where we used to walk our dogs, Elsa and Ninja, almost every day for years. We now love to take care of neighbor dogs when their people are away. 
My recent book, 
, is an IRA/CBC Teachers' Choices book, an ALA Notable Children's Book, A Book Sense Pick, and an Outstanding Science Trade Book for CHildren, as well as receiving the Orbis Pictus Honor Book Award. Booklist calls is "A great choice for elementary units about science and environmental protection," and Kirkus gave it a starred review. Click
combines these two loves as I recount the history of the relationship between Plains Indian tribes and the American bison over the thousands of years they have shared our planet, with help from photographer William Muñoz and historical artwork. School Library Journal says in its starred review, “Patent’s narrative is clear and her writing is almost lyrical,” while Booklist’s starred review points out, “The lucid narrative and spacious book design....will draw readers into the history and the science and prompt discussion of human and animal rights and the connections between them.” The book was chosen to represent Montana in the National Book Festival in Washington,D.C. for 2006 and has been chosen by the Mountain and Plains Independent Booksellers as a winner in the children’s catagory for 2007. The book was a work from the heart, both for me and for photographer Bill Muñoz, so we feel especially honored to receive this recognition.
© 2007 Dorothy Hinshaw Patent. Site by Small Dog Solutions