Bio:

Cindy Lou Aillaud grew up in western Washington with rainy winters. She always longed to play in the snow. Shortly after graduating from Washington State University she headed north to Alaska to teach school north of the Arctic Circle in Arctic Village. Since 1979 she has been living in Delta Junction where she has taught elementary students at nearly every grade including special education. She recently retired from teaching elementary physical education and is now busy visiting schools across the country talking about writing and photography. It was during a year that she was teaching kindergarten and playing outside on a very cold, twenty below day during recess in November that she was inspired to begin the project of Recess at 20 Below, her first book. At a photography workshop she had the opportunity to meet several National Geographic photographers and was surprised to hear them tell her that it would be a dream to photograph Alaska. She realized that as a teacher during recess she had a perfect opportunity to share two of her passions, teaching and photography. Recess at 20 Below allows Cindy and her students to share a little glimpse of a favorite part of their day. Cindy’s teaching accolades include being chosen as one of thirty-nine Disney Teachers of the Year for 2004, selected from 150,000 nominees. As a Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholar she traveled to Japan learning about their culture so she could share that new understanding with her school and community. Cindy and her husband, Whit, have two sons, Jason and Brian, who were born and raised in Alaska.


Writer/Illustrator
PAL
Member since 2005
Region: Alaska

Contact Information

Current Location:   Delta Junction
Website:  http://www.recessat20below.com

Published In Children's Market: Yes
Available for Speaking Engagements? Yes