tltree Presenter Bio

Learn about the Teachers of Teachers

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• Born and raised in Rockville, Connecticut.
• Didn't like math as a kid, but really liked drawing and making up stories.
• Studied art at Rhode Island School of Design.
• Worked as an art director and a consultant for educational publishing companies.
• Became a champion of visual learning strategies as a vehicle for helping children become more successful students.
• Co-founded Ligature in Chicago to develop high-quality educational materials in a variety of curriculum areas, including Social Studies, Reading, Science, and Math.
• Joined the authorship teams for a number of elementary, middle and high school math textbook programs. Promoted the presentation of math concepts in kid-relevant contexts, and theuse of visual as well as verbal messages to communicate ideas. This experience sparked the development of the MathStart series.
• The Best Bug Parade is his favorite book because it was his first (published in 1996). It was also the first time he saw his name on the cover of a book.
• There are now 63 MathStart books — 21 in each level — with many more on the drawing boards. Three new books are released each Spring and Fall.
• Sales have passed 3.5 million.
• Each MathStart book is vetted by a team of math teachers and takes over two years to produce.
• Each book is designed be a stand alone story with its own cast of characters and look. Stuart has collaborated with more than 30 different illustrators.
• MathStart has been named one of the Top Ten Nonfiction Series for Young Children by Booklist magazine, a publication of the American Library Association.
• Loves to travel and has visited over 300 schools in the U.S. and Canada, meeting hundreds of thousands of kids since 1996. Has also taken the MathStart message overseas to Australia, England, India and Italy. MathStart books are also available in South Korea.
• Serves on the executive committee for the Advisory Council to the Arts in Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
• Lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and Tuscany, Italy, with wife Nancy. Grandkids Jack, and Madeleine and Camille have all his books.
• Stuart is also working on a number of new projects, all of which involve visual learning strategies.
• MathStart books have won several honors, including awards from The Bank Street College of Education and The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. Less Than Zero was named a "Best Book of the Year" by Science Books & Films magazine.

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