Creator
Martha E. Kendall
American author and community college educator who co-wrote Nawuth Keat's Khmer Rouge survival memoir.
Martha E. Kendall is an American writer and educator who co-wrote Alive in the Killing Fields with Nawuth Keat.[1][2] She taught at San Jose City College for 35 years.[3]
Teaching
At San Jose City College, Kendall chaired the English department and coordinated the Teaching and Learning Center. She won "Best Teacher" awards from several student groups and founded the college's annual Women's History Celebration.[4] In 2008 she became Dean of Language Arts, a post she held for a short time before she retired.[3]
She is a Carnegie Scholar. For many years she was senior executive editor of the international journal College Teaching. Her textbooks and her DVD series The Real Thing are used by students in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Middle East and China.[4] She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan, with majors in English and Spanish. She holds a master's degree in English from Stanford University and a master's degree in social science from San Jose State.[4]
Alive in the Killing Fields
Kendall met Nawuth Keat when he enrolled in her World Literature class at San Jose City College. She offered to write down his story of his childhood.[5] The book tells how he survived the Khmer Rouge as a boy and escaped to the United States. Kendall wrote its preface.[6][2]
Alive in the Killing Fields: Surviving the Khmer Rouge Genocide was published by National Geographic Kids on October 13, 2009. It has 128 pages and is written for readers aged 12 and up. Libraries catalog it as juvenile literature.[7][6] School Library Journal called it a compelling portrait of childhood in Cambodia in the 1970s.[5]
Other writing
Kendall has written several nonfiction books for children, including National Geographic's The Erie Canal.[8] Her subjects have included Steve Wozniak and Jane Goodall. Full Cycle: A Family Ride Across Spain tells of a 600-mile (about 965 km) bicycle journey on the Camino de Santiago.[3] She also speaks about her writing in programs that include humor and music.[4]
Recognition
For Alive in the Killing Fields:
- American Library Association, "Best Book for Young Adults"[1]
- Junior Library Guild selection[5]
- Notable Book, National Council of Social Studies[5]
- Selected for the California Collection[5]
Works
- Alive in the Killing Fields (Book)
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Martha Kendall official site
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Smithsonian BookDragon, Alive in the Killing Fields (April 23, 2011)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 San Jose City College Times, Kendall publishes a new book about life (February 17, 2012)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Martha Kendall official site, About
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Martha Kendall official site, Alive in the Killing Fields
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Stark Library, Alive in the Killing Fields (catalog record)
- ↑ Penguin Random House, Alive in the Killing Fields
- ↑ Barnes & Noble, Alive in the Killing Fields