Christine Taylor-Butler (born in the 1960s) is a children's book author in the United States. She has written more than 80 books including ''The Lost Tribe'' series. She has been an advocate for diversity in character representations and led by example. Taylor-Butler majored in civil engineering and architecture at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, graduating in 1981. She has written nonfiction for Scholastic, including for their ''True Book'' educational series. She lives in Kansas City with her husband. She has two adult daughters. She wrote an essay about gender inequity at the Caldecott Awards and discussed the

Coretta Scott King Book Awards The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Coretta Scott King Book Award Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award recognizes ou ...

Biography

Christine Taylor-Butler grew up in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio in the 1960s. She attended boarding school at

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

in New England before going to

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

where she graduated in 1981 with a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, with architecture. She also completed a second MIT degree in Art & Design. After college, Taylor-Butler took on a number of jobs, including at a start-up software company and at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, before working as a graphic arts manager at

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...

for more than a decade. Recognizing a gap in the market in children's books, she worked with the Scholastic True Books educational nonfiction series, Taylor-Butler wrote more than 30 books about topics across science and social science, from the human body and planets to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

and civil rights. Married with daughters, Taylor-Butler noticed the lack of diverse characters in young adult and children's books, and took that on as her next challenge. She has published over 80 books. She was formerly an interviewer for MIT admissions. She was awarded the

George B. Morgan Award George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

from MIT in recognition of her sustained excellence in all aspects of Educational Council activity. Taylor-Butler is a member of the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

, and has been a judge for

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

and toastmaster at the

World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Convention is an annual science fiction convention, convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art sh ...

. She lives in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Works

*''The Lost Tribe'' series *''Lamb's Easter Surprise'' (2012) *''Reading Maps'' (2012)

References

External links

Interview about Lost Tribe series
Vimeo {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor-Butler, Christine Living people Writers from Cleveland Writers from Kansas City, Kansas Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American women children's writers Year of birth missing (living people) American children's writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers Phillips Exeter Academy alumni