Back in November 2012, Alumna Julie Dillemuth (PhD 2008) wrote to say that she had left academia to become a full time mother and writer (see “Julie Dillemuth Finds Her Way as a Writer”). At the time, she stated: “Wouldn’t it be neat to help promote spatial thinking in kids through fun, engaging books? Not straight-up educational books, but fiction stories with spatial themes and lots of spatial language.”
Julie went on to say, “So I started writing, and I discovered that I absolutely love writing for children. I do just the text (picture book publishers prefer to find their own illustrators), and while I’m working hard at my spatial goal, not all of my stories end up with a spatial theme. I also discovered how crazy hard it is to get published, and how no children’s writer does this for the money. But I am determined, and I hope to publish my first picture book while my daughter can still appreciate it (she’s 21 months, so I have several years)!” (source: email to the editor, 11/15/12).”
Fast forward 2 3/4 years: Julie just contacted UCSB Geography to say: “Well, I’m thrilled to tell you that my first picture book is coming out next month! It’s called “Lucy in the City: A Story about Developing Spatial Thinking Skills,” and the publisher is Magination Press. Check it out at the American Psychological Association’s Magination Press site and on Amazon. It’s a fun story for 4-8 year olds about a raccoon who finds her way, and at the end there is an extensive Note to Parents, Caregivers, and Professionals that details what spatial thinking is and offers several activity and game ideas for building spatial skills with kids.”
Julie is planning a book launch party and signing sometime in the Fall. Kudos to Julie for such an outstanding feat, especially considering the fact that, according to one published author, only 0.03% of submitted manuscripts are accepted for publication – roughly one in every 10,000 – not to mention the fact that Julie is one of only 1.68% of the US population that has a PhD!
Editor’s note: According to U.S. Census 2013 data, 1.68 percent of Americans over the age of 25 have a PhD. This equates to approximately 2.5 million people. People with professional degrees such as MD or DDS make up 1.48 percent of the U.S. population, making the total percent of Americans referred to as doctors equal to 3.16 percent.
Article by Bill Norrington
