Cerrie Burnell couldn’t read until she was eight-years-old and couldn’t write until she was ten. Despite this, she had stories to tell, but couldn’t make the words flow from her pen. She was unable to decipher the shapes of letters and so couldn’t understand the alphabet. She learned she was severely dyslexic, but decided her diagnosis simply meant that she was viewing the world in a different way.
Armed with her diagnosis, Burnell realized she had been given the gift of being able to think outside the box. Even though she was academically failing, she began learning to read within three months of her diagnosis thanks to the support she received from her mother and headmistress, as well as her own confidence.
As Burnell began to fall in love with reading, she realized that what mesmerized her most about the stories were the illustrations that came along with them – both written on the page and imagined in her head. Plus, illustrations had always been a good way for her to share stories with her mother before she was able to read. She understood that even if parents aren’t confident readers, they should still be able to share stories with their children; and even if those children can’t read, they can still appreciate illustrations. Thus, Burnell has crafted her very own picture book, Snowflakes, with the help of illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson.
To read more about Burnell, visit: http://booksbywomen.org/unforgettable-picture-book-by-cerrie-burnell/ or follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cerrieburnell.
Copies of Snowflakes can be purchased over at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Snowflakes-Cerrie-Burnell/dp/1407135031/.