JOAN BRANSFIELD GRAHAM's award-winning books, SPLISH SPLASH and FLICKER FLASH--shape poems about water and light--inspire students to write their own poetry. Both books were SLJ Best Books of the Year and NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts. Instructor Magazine selected SPLISH SPLASH for its list of "71 TOP BOOKS OF THE CENTURY, Nonfiction." FLICKER FLASH, an NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book, was nominated for Children's Book Awards in five states, among many other honors. Joan's poetry has been widely published in journals, anthologies, textbooks, and magazines--Ranger Rick's Nature Magazine, Highlights, Cricket, Click, Creative Classroom, Instructor, and Storyworks. She's done freelance writing for ABC-TV and The Writer. Joan has lived in the north, south, east, and west United States. A former teacher, she enjoys giving presentations and workshops at schools, libraries, and conferences throughout the world and loves encouraging students to think creatively. An avid photographer,she incorporates photos from around the globe in her programs.  The Casablanca American School flew her to Morocco for a school visit. She’s won Literacy Grants to provide books for almost 100 children in area Habitat for Humanity homes. In 2007 Joan received a Celebrate Literacy Award from the International Reading Association and the Foothill Reading Council.