SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Jo Jo Makoons
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://dawnquigley.com/
CITY: Forest Lake
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 379
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in New York, NY; married; children: two girls.
EDUCATION:Has a PhD.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, assistant professor of education. Previously taught English and reading at the K-12 level for eighteen years and was co-director of an Indian education program.
WRITINGS
Also author of Native American Heroes, Scholastic (New York, NY). Contributor to anthologies, including Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Heartdrum (New York, NY), 2021. Author of articles, essays, and poems.
SIDELIGHTS
Dawn Quigley is an educator and writer of books for young readers. An enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, Quigley highlights Native American themes in her books, which include the young-adult novel Apple in the Middle as well as the chapter books in her “Jo Jo Makoons” series. In an interview with Kim Rogers on the Cynsations blog, Quigley discussed her decision to focus on Native American themes and stories: “Writing about contemporary Ojibwe kids is really important to me. I want to let all readers, teachers, librarians, families know that, indeed, we Natives still exist.”
In her debut work, Apple in the Middle, Quigley tells the story of Apple Starkington, who is of mixed white and Indian descent. Her Native American mother died giving birth to her, and Apple has subsequently shied away from her Native heritage to avoid getting bullied by classmates. However, when her father sends her to visit her relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation one summer, Apple encounters a different way of life and a new perspective on her own heritage. “Bouncing in the middle of two cultures, Apple meets her Indian relatives, shatters Indian stereotypes, and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color,” noted Mary Cowper in MBR Bookwatch. Reviewing the novel in School Library Journal, Amy Zembroski called it “a strong story with themes that resonate with many adolescents as they try to figure out who they are in life.”
Quigley opens her “Jo Jo Makoons” series with Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend. Featuring illustrations by Tara Audibert, the chapter book focuses on a seven-year-old Ojibwe girl. Josephine “Jo Jo” Makoons Azure is spirited and unafraid to do things her own way. The book follows her through first grade, navigating friendships, and dealing with family issues. School Library Journal critic Danielle Burbank noted that “readers will love Jo Jo and want to be her friend.” Similarly, a Publishers Weekly reviewer praised the “winning, straightforward voice” that Quigley fashions for Jo Jo.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
MBR Bookwatch, September, 2018, Mary Cowper, review of Apple in the Middle.
Publishers Weekly, March 22, 2021, review of Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend, p. 83.
School Library Journal, September, 2018, Amy Zembroski, review of Apple in the Middle, p. 115; May, 2021, Danielle Burbank, review of Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend, p. 73.
ONLINE
Cynsations, https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/ (September 1, 2018), Cynthia Leitich Smith, author interview; (May 1, 2021), Kim Rogers, author interview.
Dawn Quigley website, https://dawnquigley.com/ (November 22, 2021).
School Library Journal, https://www.slj.com/ (August 16, 2021), Kara Stewart, author interview.*
I’m Dawn Quigley
…and I live in Minnesota (where there are veeerrryy long winters!). I am an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. My first memories of my childhood are of sitting on my mom’s lap while she read to me. Books have been important to me my entire life which is why I’m so excited to be an author now.
Official Bio
Dawn Quigley, Ph.D. and citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, ND, is an assistant professor at a Midwest university Education Department. She taught English and reading for 18+ years in the K-12 schools along with being an Indian Education program co-director. In addition to her debut coming-of-age Young Adult novel, Apple in the Middle (NDSU Press), “Joey Reads the Sky” in Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, the chapter book series Jo Jo Makoons: The Used to Be Best Friend (book #1); Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants (#2), Red Bird Danced (forthcoming novel-in-verse), and Native American Heroes (Scholastic Books). Dawn has over 30 published articles, essays and poems. She lives in Minnesota with her family.
AND, a much shorter, kid-friendly one:
Dawn Quigley, Ph.D. and citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, ND, is an educator and former Indian Education program director. She loves to read, write, and sometimes cook healthy. Dawn lives in Minnesota with her family.
FAQs
What do you like to read?
I like to read anything I can get my hands on! I’ll read fiction, nonfiction, magazines, cookbooks-you name it. Growing up I always ate my breakfast while reading the cereal box-EVERYTHING on the box: ingredients, advertisements, and promotions.
Now I also read more children’s books (baby book through teens) for fun, and to learn how other writers create stories. I’m not too much of e-reader person because I love the feel, look and even smell of actual books! Being Ojibwe, reading Native American literature is a passion of mine, too.
What inspired you to write your first book, Apple in the Middle, which is focused on Native American characters?
I taught in K-12 grades for over 18 years, and years ago it was challenging at times to find books and materials that reflected Native people respectfully. As a Native teacher, I wanted to show the positive aspects of our culture. I knew that I have lived and seen these beautiful Native aspects, and began to educate myself and my peers that there are books out there, but we all need to put in the effort to find, read and evaluate them.
I began this book because of a beckoning voice I kept hearing: Tell them the stories. My first instinct was to push it away. How could I write a book? Who was I? But I felt this book was to be a legacy for my children to hear about my Turtle Mountain grandparents and what they taught me-and are still teaching me today even though their footprints are no longer on this Earth, but in my soul. And like many Native people who are story tellers, I knew that the best way to share history and life lesson is through the telling of tales.
As I was in the middle of the book I started to wonder if this was meant to be more than just a family tale, but instead a way to let non-Native people peer through the keyhole to get a glimpse into our world. A world that is a beautiful one, but also a world that is many times misunderstood.
What is your writing process?
My greatest challenge for my first book, Apple in the Middle, was that I had no idea how to write a book, or at least I couldn’t describe it! In teaching middle school English and reading, I spent countless hours reading YA books for my students to select read aloud, and class novels. I fell in love with reading books that could transform my students.
I began writing letters to the editors of our local newspapers, then wrote full commentary essays. I gained a lot of confidence each time something was published. Next I branched out to poetry. But, to write a book, this was the challenge. I took a few courses at a local writer’s loft on how to sell and promote books, but not on the actual task of writing. I did read only a few books on it (Stephen King’s On Writing and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird). Those books, and reading up to 10 books a month, were my writing teachers. I would use favorite sections of a book to learn how the author crafted dialogue, the climatic parts, etc. Then, I wrote roughly two pages a day for some time until I had a finished book! I didn’t outline my story at all, and this is something I will do in the future: begin with a rough frame. Maybe…
When you’re not reading or writing, what do you like to do?
Well, those two things take up most of my time (and I love it!). We have two children, so I am often driving them around to activities. I also like to garden, but lately the weeds seem to have taken over. All winter long I think about being on the lakes here in Minnesota-I love being on the boat.
I am also a professor and teach college students who want to pursue a degree in education.
Dawn Quigley
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dawn Quigley is an author and educator. She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, North Dakota.[1]
Her first book, Apple in the Middle, was nominated for the American Indian Youth Literature Award[2] and the WILLA Literary Award.[3]
Career
Quigley attended the University of Minnesota, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Master of Education degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction, as well as middle school endorsements in Math and English Language Arts.[4] She also received certificates in K–6 Elementary Education and K–12 Literacy from Augsburg College.[4]
Quigley taught English Language Arts in K–12 schools for 18 years and was an Indian Education program co-director. She is currently an assistant professor at St. Catherine University, where she teaches in the Education Department.[4] Her research interests lie in teacher education, Native American literature, and Indigenous research methods.[4] Her scholarly writing has been published in Social Identities[5] and American Indian Quarterly.[6]
Publications
Apple in the Middle, published August 2, 2018 by North Dakota State University Press
American Indian Youth Literature Award nominee (2020)[2]
WILLA Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction nominee (2019)[3]
North Dakota Library Association's Flicker Tales nominee (2020)[7]
Great Lakes Great Books nominee (2020)[8]
Independent Press Award for Young Adult Fiction winner (2019)[9]
Moonbeam Gold Award winner (2018)[10]
Native American Heroes, published 2019 by Scholastic
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, published February 9, 2021 by Heartdrum
Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-be Best Friend, illustrated by Tara Audibert, published May 11, 2021 by Heartdrum
Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants, expected to be published May 10, 2022 by Heartdrum
DAWN QUIGLEY
Dawn Quigley, Ph.D. and citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, ND, writes picture books, chapter books and middle grade stories centering Native American characters. In addition to her debut coming-of-age young adult novel, Apple in the Middle (NDSU Press), “Joey Reads the Sky” in Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, the chapter book series Jo Jo Makoons: The Used to Be Best Friend (book #1); Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants (#2), Red Bird Danced (forthcoming novel-in-verse), and Native American Heroes (Scholastic Books), Dawn has over 30 published articles, essays and poems. She lives in Minnesota with her family.
Both Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants and Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day were named 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award Best Middle Grade Honor Books.
Open to work for hire and IP work in board books, picture books, chapter books, and middle grade.
Agent
Erin Murphy
Snow Day. By Dawn Quigley. Illus. by Tara Audibert. 2023. 96p. HarperCollins/Heartdrum, $17.99 (9780063015432); paper, $6.99 (9780063015449). Gr. 1-3.
Spunky seven-year-old Josephine "Jo Jo" Makoons Azure, a first-grader living and attending school on the fictional Pembina Ojibwe Reservation, returns in the adorable third installment of a clever and kindhearted early chapter-book series celebrating tribal community and culture. Plucky Jo Jo notices that Mama, Kokum, and cat Mimi each have their own way of staying healthy: Mama runs, Mimi takes vitamins, and Kokum "is in love with sugar" but has "die-beeties"--for which she takes medicine. Over nine quick chapters, Jo Jo embraces Teachers lesson about healthfulness and checking on Elders and coordinates a snowy, multigenerational, neighborhood "Ojibwe Olympics," complete with round-dancing and lip-pointing. Audibert (Wolastoqey/French) nails Jo Jo's animated personality with her ebullient, cartoonish spot and full-page grayscale illustrations. Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) continues to affirm Native identity through peppered use of Michif and Ojibwe language while eliciting Amelia Bedelia-style giggles with Jo Jo's high jinks and wholesomely naive worldview. A terrific pick for fans of plucky protagonists like Ryan Hart, Marisol Rainey, and Jasmine Toguchi.--Kit Ballenger
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Source Citation
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Ballenger, Kit. "Snow Day." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 5-6, 1 Nov. 2023, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A774988468/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7b1303be. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.
Quigley, Dawn JO JO MAKOONS Heartdrum (Children's None) $17.99 9, 19 ISBN: 9780063015432
An Ojibwe girl learns that being healthy goes beyond diet.
It seems everyone in 7-year-old Jo Jo's life is trying to be healthy--her Mama, her Kokum, even her cat, Mimi, who takes vitamins. When her first grade class begins a unit on healthy eating, Jo Jo jumps in with both feet, even if her ideas of "healthy" are often harebrained (like substituting ice cream for milk in her cereal). At the same time, Jo Jo, who lives on the fictional Pembina Ojibwe Reservation, does her best to heed her tribal chair and check in on her neighbors, especially her Elders. When school is canceled due to a snowstorm, Jo Jo proposes that she and her classmates hold their own "winner" Olympics and invite Elders to participate, too. What unfolds are the Ojibwe Olympics, complete with lip-pointing races and round-dancing, and Jo Jo learns that being in community is an important part of being healthy. This third book in Quigley's (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) series is a charmer, with the spunky, bighearted protagonist continuing to raise laughs and inspire. Readers will be enchanted by Jo Jo's voice and Audibert's (of Wolastoqey and French heritage) cute, cartoon-style illustrations, rendered in grayscale. Ojibwe values are woven deftly into the fabric of the story. A glossary of the Ojibwe and Michif words enhances the reading experience. Jo Jo's classmates are diverse in the artwork.
An absolute delight. (about this story, author's note, letter to readers by editor Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Fiction. 6-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Quigley, Dawn: JO JO MAKOONS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A758849180/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5e76b417. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.
QUIGLEY, Dawn. Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day. illus. by Tara Audibert. 96p. (Jo Jo Makoons: Bk. 3). HarperCollins/Heartdrum. Sept. 2023. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780063015432; pap. $6.99. ISBN 9780063015449.
K-Gr 3--Seven-year-old Jo Jo Makoons is enjoying her first real snow day. No e-learning is occurring today due to an internet outage on the Ojihwe reservation where JoJo lives. She has been learning about healthy foods and being neighborly in school. With those topics in the forefront of JoJo's mind, she and her friends set out to create Olympic games of their own. Outdoor adventures include rolling down the hill, using burned fry bread, and a lip pointing race that even the elders can get involved in. Being healthy and neighborly are woven throughout the nine chapters. New readers will adore JoJo's voice and hilarious take on life. This early chapter book includes journal entries from JoJo, a glossary with pronunciation guide, and black-and-white illustrations. VERDICT Readers will laugh out loud at JoJo's antics and opinions as she embraces her community, heritage, and love for life. Give to fans of "Junie B. Jones." Recommended for all libraries.--Tracy Cronce
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Source Citation
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Cronce, Tracy. "QUIGLEY, Dawn. Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day." School Library Journal, vol. 69, no. 10, Oct. 2023, p. 75. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766727718/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=85c8f8f3. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.