Dawn Publications began with the genius of one man - Joseph Cornell - for sharing nature with children. With the publication of Sharing Nature with Children (1979) he began a career of connecting people with nature - his "nature games" produced a revolution in nature education with their hands-on nature experiences. The response was so positive (over 500,000 copies in English, and many more in 15 languages) that Joseph went on to develop his popular series of books.
One day in 1992, a manuscript for a children's picture book came in the mail from an unusually talented 14 year-old junior high school student. Her name was Kristin Joy Pratt. With A Walk in the Rainforest (1992) and then her second book, A Swim through the Sea (1994), we were thrilled to bring beautiful, inspiring books directly to children. Dozens of children's books later, with authors and illustrators all over the U.S., we are very pleased to present a unique line of nature appreciation titles. More recently, we published a series of guides to assist teachers to share nature in the classroom. We sincerely hope that these products help future generations to cherish the Earth and live appreciatively on it.
In each of these products, our passion is to assist parents and educators to open the minds and hearts of children to the transforming influence of nature. Our books not only seek to inform, but also to inspire. In other words, we try to reach the heart as well as the mind, for the heart is the impulse that will motivate children to a lifelong relationship of respect, stewardship and intelligent cooperation with our Earth home and Mother Nature.
Our offices are in an oak and pine forest in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, just outside of Nevada City, California. We feel fortunate to have a business so close to nature-where deer and wild turkeys often amble by! As you might suspect, our team is a nature-loving bunch.
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Glenn Hovemann, editor and co-publisher, has been working closely with our authors since 1993. His pleasant demeanor and "editor's eye" garners many successful manuscripts-turned-books. He reads The Chicago Manual of Style for pleasure.
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Muffy Weaver is manager and co-publisher, working side by side with Glenn as a husband and wife team. Part of her role is as art director, selecting and guiding the illustrators. Muffy brings to Dawn both the mind of a manager and the heart of a mother, lovingly overseeing the development and birth of each new product.
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Renee Bryan is our Marketing Manager, "Mom", and her hats are of many colors, shapes and sizes. She will handle your concerns with such cheerfulness that you'll almost forget why you called. She keeps a picture of her "best bud" and long-time office companion, Beepo, on her desk for warm memories of a great friend.
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Tom Bryan brings extensive design experience, enthusiasm, and a deep appreciation for books and nature to both Dawn's marketing and accounting areas. On his days off from you will usually find Tom kayaking with Renee!
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Richard Rodrigue is our webmaster, database manager, foreign rights contact, and marketing assistant. Richard is our main contact for John Denver Fans, but he loves all of our books! He's a good guy to have around when something breaks.
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Cindi Shoemaker is our shipping pro, assembling and packaging orders and
shipping with care. Having worked with UPS, she always gets those orders out the door on time!
Always cheerful and funny, she is a joy to be around!
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Undoubtedly the oldest and wisest member of our dream team is Audrey Oburn, Renee's mother. At 85, she still goes dancing! She helps us part-time with just about any kind of office work we need-quietly, efficiently, a pleasure to have around.
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