ANN DALLMAN has
lifelong roots in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She started
out as a newspaper reporter/photographer and later taught
middle and high school English/Journalism/Reading, fifteen
of those years on the Hannahville Indian Reservation in
Wilson, MI. She holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism
Education from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s
degree from Viterbo University. A freelance writer, she is
now writing her third Cady novel. Ann served as
Writer in Residence at Wild Acres Retreat Center in North
Carolina and was awarded scholarships to study writing with
author Susan Power/Split Rock Arts Institute/Minneapolis, MN
and to Highlights Foundations sessions in Honesdale, PA.
Her Middle Grade novel, Cady and the Bear Necklace,
a U.P. Notable Book, received: Historical Society of
Michigan State History Award, Midwest Book Award, New
Mexico-Arizona Book Award and was a Next Generation Indie
Book Award Finalist. The second book in the series, Cady
and the Birchbark Box, is also a U.P. Notable Book
and received the Historical Society of Michigan State
History Award. It is published by Modern History Press of
Ann Arbor, MI, available locally at Snowbound Books and on
amazon, B&N, Walmart and target.com websites.
"Ann Dallman's second
novel Cady
and the Birchbark Box depicts the
sophistication of the Native American culture and the
everyday life of a 13 year-old teenage girl. Cady’s
character struggles with a move to another community, a
crush on a young man and most importantly--a mystery behind
a birchbark box. Cady demonstrates an endearing respect and
admiration for her grandmother while being frustrated with
not getting the answers from her that she needs: who
was Abe and what was his connection to Lake Superior’s
shipwreck past? The infamous story of the sinking of
the Christmas Tree Ship in 1912 holds her attention as well.
Realistic family
relationships color Cady’s world with a caring father,
absent mother, new stepmother and baby brother. Cady manages
her responsibilities at home, as a soccer player and a high
school student while doggedly searching for the answers to a
riddled past dug up from the grounds surrounding a vacant
home. A particular noisy blue jay makes its presence known
and keeps her on task. Cady's crush is only rarely seen in
this installment. She must work at calming her famous temper
while she faces a life filled with stress. Nevertheless, she
is often reminded about her gift of solving mysteries." --
Sharon Brunner, U.P. Book Review