Children's Authors/Caralyn Buehner

Biographical Information

Caralyn Buehner was born in St. George, Utah and grew up in Salt Lake City. She lived in a home that valued books and where lap reading was the norm. As a teen she wrote a chapter of a romance novel and also won state and national awards for her writing. She met her husband in college, and they currently have 8 children.

Caralyn needed some encouragement from her husband to pursue her talent of writing children’s books. He is an illustrator, and they've worked together on many of her books. Her first full length book was Escape of Marvin the Ape. She writes about manners, values, family relationships, and life in general, but her focus has changed lately from “wanting to get a deep point across to just wanting to bring a little light and joy into my work”(UCWI, 2004).

Caralyn is very gracious about her writing. She sometimes uses her life experiences in her books as inspiration. Fanny's Dream is one example of this. "There's so much of myself, my mother, and my grandmother in her (Fanny) that she is very real to me" (UCWI, 2004).

Books of Interest

Would I Ever Lie to You? is a fun, whimsical story about one great way to get back at troublesome older brothers. The colorful illustrations add to the overall feel of this story. A family cat who seemingly understands the conversations between the brothers adds to this stories appeal. Kids will love this book for all of the "right there" themes within it but they'll be amazed if they look deeper into the pictures and find the other story threaded within the illustrations.

Enter the magical world of Snowmen At Night and its fantastical, midnight adventure with ice-cold cocoa, snowman races and snowball fights. This book will capture children with the many hidden pictures (cat, Santa, rabbit and a T-Rex)on every page. Mark Buehner's talent as an illustrator is unmatched in his use of oil paints over acrylics format for this book. Though the words are few, the message is clear and allows each reader's imagination to run wild about what snowmen do at night.

Fanny's Dream is a story about an everlastingly too late fairy god mother. This story is very real and relateable for many situations and audiences. The illustrations follow the same style, oil paints over acrylics as with many of her other books. The theme of self acceptance just the way that we are is felt throughout this book. Though this book is very literal with no deep thinking required to understand it, there is charm and scenarios that will put a smile on your face.

Dex: The Heart of a Hero portrays a tenacious, little dachshund who is not deterred by his size nor the teasing from the other characters in this story. Though he is ridiculed in the beginning, his hard work pays off in the end. This book includes hidden pictures within the illustrations in addition to the speech bubbles weaved throughout. The style and word choice used in the speech bubbles is similar to that of superhero comic books.

There is always something to inspire you to do better at in Buehner's books, which is also the case in The Queen of Style. When this bored queen finally realizes her true potential, all of her kingdom benefits. Illustrator Mark Buehner creates some pretty extravagant hair styles for our benefit while keeping to his usual and amazing style. Mark complements the text with his painting through the facial expressions of his characters.

Carolyn Buehner recreates the timeless classic, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Adding only minor additions, Carolyn weaves rhyme and rhythym through catchy sing-song verses and a new personality for Goldilocks into this famous fable. Mark Buehner is once again the illustrator who captures the smallest of details which adds to the overall appeal of this story.

All of Carolyn Buehner's books portray small everyday inconveniences we face as human beings and helps to provide a possible solution. They are "feel good" books that always put a smile on the face of any reader. Mark consistently uses hidden pictures in his artwork to captivate his audience of even the earliest of readers.

References

Official website of Caralyn and Mark Buehner: http://www.buehnerbooks.com

Caralyn Buehner interview: http://ucwi.org/interviewcaralynb.htm

Author Profile: http://www.ucwi.org/profilecaralynb.htm

Caralyn Buehner Biographical Sketch: http://www.answers.com/topic/caralyn-m-buehner

Buehner, C. & Davis, J. E. (2007). Would I Ever Lie to You? New York, NY: The Penguin Group.

Buehner, C. & Buehner, M. (1996). Fanny's Dream. New York, NY: The Penguin Group.

Buehner, C. & Buehner, M. (2002). Snowmen At Night. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Buehner, C. & Buehner, M. (2004). Dex: The Heart of a Hero. New York, NY: HarperCollins

Buehner, C. & Buehner, M. (2008). The Queen of Style. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Buehner, C. & Buehner, M. (2007). Goldilocks and the Three Bears. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.