Elizabeth Rusch is an American children's author and magazine writer. Rusch has written about numerous nonfiction subjects ranging from

volcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geology, geological, geophysical and geochemistry, geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin language, Latin ...

to the life of

Maria Anna Mozart Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia "Marianne" Mozart (30 July 1751 – 29 October 1829), nicknamed Nannerl, was a highly regarded musician from Salzburg, Austria. In her childhood, she developed into an outstanding keyboard player under the tutelage ...

. Rusch has also written several works of fiction including the picture book ''A Day with No Crayons'' and the graphic novel ''Muddy Max: The Mystery of Marsh Creek'.'' Her books have won numerous awards and accolades including: The Oregon Spirit Award,

Oregon Book Award The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by the Portland, Oregon, United States–based organization Literary Arts, Inc. to honor the "state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literatur ...

, NSTA Outstanding Science Tradebook, Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year, Kirkus Best Book of the Year, Gelett Burgess Award for Biography, AAAS Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal Best Book of Year, New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, Best

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

Trade Book (NSTA-CBC), Texas Topaz Nonfiction Gem. She attended

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. Rusch has written more than 15 books for children and more than one hundred articles for young people and adults.

Controversy

Rusch's picture book ''Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet'' drew national attention when all copies were pulped shortly before its release. The book, a biography of

Mario Molina Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (19 March 19437 October 2020) was a Mexican physical chemist. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role ...

, the Nobel-Prize winning chemist who helped solve the ozone layer crisis of the 1980s, took Rusch years to write. It was due to be released in 2018, but when the book’s illustrator,

David Diaz David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the Kings of Israel and Judah, third king of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stel ...

, was accused of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

, the release was postponed and the finished copies of the book were destroyed.

“It’s really sad that people won’t be able to read this version,” said Ms. Rusch, who posted a comment on Facebook strongly supporting the women who came forward.'' ''“But it’s the right thing to do for the book, and the industry, as painful as it was.”''

The publisher, Charlesbridge, announced plans to hire a new illustrator and release the book at a later date, and it was published in 2019 with illustrations by Teresa Martinez. It won the 2020

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing ...

for best work of nonfiction for younger readers as well as the 2020 Green Book Award for children's picture book.

Books for children

Elizabeth Rusch's books for young people include: * ''Generation Fix: Young Ideas for a Better World'', 2002 * ''Girls' Tennis: Conquering the Court'', 2007 * ''A Day With No Crayons'', 2007 * ''The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto'', 2007 * ''Will It Blow? Become a Volcano Detective at Mount St. Helens'', 2007 * ''Generation Fix: Young Ideas for a Better World'', 2008 * ''The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity'', 2012 (nominated in 2013 for

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, established in 2010, is an annual literary award presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonpro ...

) * ''Volcano Rising'', 2013 * ''Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World'', 2013 * ''Eruption! Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives'', 2013 * ''The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceans'', 2014 * ''Impact! Asteroids and the Science of Saving the World'', 2017 * ''Ready, Set . . . Baby!'', 2017 * ''The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano'', 2017 * ''Avalanche Dog Heroes: Piper and Friends Learn to Search the Snow'', 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusch, Elizabeth Living people Duke University alumni American women children's writers American children's writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers 1966 births