Diane Swanson (5 April 194419 November 2021) was a Canadian writer of science books for children."Swanson, Diane, 1944–2021”. Library of Congress Authorities. Retrieved 2015-03-19. She published over 70 books and was winner of several awards including Parents' Choice Award, Mid-America Publishers Association Award and Orbis Pictus Award.

Biography Swanson was born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. As a child, she and her terrier Sammy would spend summers looking for ladybugs and spiders outside.

She graduated from the University of Alberta with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in the social sciences. She taught in the West Indies for two years. She researched water resources for the Canadian government while living in Ottawa.

Swanson's first book was published when she was 18. She wrote over 70 books and 450 magazine articles.

Swanson lived in Victoria, British Columbia. Her hobbies were hiking, piano-playing, and reading. She was married with two children.

Reception The Toronto Globe and Mail described Swanson's A Crash of Rhinos, A Party of Jays as providing "a cheerfully educational vantage point from which to view the natural world and its denizens". Booklist called it "part science and part English lesson", deeming it "great for individual or classroom consumption".

The Globe and Mail called The Wonder in Water a "well-laid-out and attractively illustrated book".

Nzong Xiong, writing for The Fresno Bee, described The Dentist & You as an "easy-to-read" book designed to help make dentist visits for children ages 4 to 7 "easier and less fearful". Resource Links found it to be useful for "parents wanting to prepare their children for their first visit to the dentist" or teachers, but found the book "a bit too long and detailed" for the target audience. School Library Journal, however, tagged it as "excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject".

Buffalo Sunrise was called "a full-bodied photo essay" and an "exemplary book" that "ably" recounts the history of the American buffalo by the San Francisco Chronicle. Booklist called it "a useful resource for middle-graders".

Reviewing Alligators and Crocodiles, Frogs and Toads and Penguins from the Welcome to the World of Animals series for the School Library Journal, Arwen Marshall of the Minneapolis Public Library criticized the narrow scope of the books, saying "These serviceable overviews might be useful for brief reports, but they don't cover any new ground." Resource Links found the series to provide "enough information to satisfy [students'] curiosity while also meeting their research needs", recommending the books "for any elementary school library".

Published works

Animals Can Be So ... series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Animals Can Be So Speedy 2001 Greystone Books 1-55054-827-1 Animals Can Be So Sleepy 2001 Greystone Books 1-55054-837-9 Animals Can Be So Hard to See 2002 Greystone Books 1-55054-901-4 Animals Can Be So Playful 2002 Greystone Books 1-55054-900-6

Canada Close Up series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Canada Close Up: Canada's Bugs 2007 Scholastic Canada 0-43994-673-5

Mysterious You series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Hmm?: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Memory 2001 Rose Cowles Kids Can Press 1-55074-595-6 Burp!: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read about Eating 2001 Rose Cowles Kids Can Press 1-55074-601-4

Nature Detectives — The Living World series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN The Sixth Street Wetland Detectives 1996 Stuart Duncan Pacific Edge Publishing 1-89511-044-0 The Cedar Club Forest Detectives 1996 Stuart Duncan Pacific Edge Publishing 1-89511-042-4 The Central School Seashore Detectives 1996 Terry Smith Pacific Edge Publishing 1-89511-039-4 The Gibson Park Grassland Detective 1996 Terry Smith Pacific Edge Publishing 1-89511-041-6 The Kingfisher Camp River Detectives 1998 Judith Rackham Pacific Edge Publishing 1-89511-054-8

True Stories from the Edge series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Tunnels! 2003 Annick Press 1-55037-781-7

Up Close series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Up Close: Noses That Plow and Poke 1999 Greystone Books 1-55054-733-X Up Close: Tails That Talk and Fly 1999 Greystone Books 1-55054-717-8 Up Close: Teeth That Stab and Grind 2000 Greystone Books 1-55054-768-2 Up Close: Feet That Suck and Feed 2000 Greystone Books 1-55054-767-4 Up Close: Skin That Slimes and Scares 2001 Greystone Books 1-55054-817-4 Up Close: Headgear That Hides and Plays 2001 Douglas & McIntyre 1-55054-819-0

Welcome to the World series Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Welcome to the World of Whales 1996 Whitecap Books 1-55110-490-3 Welcome to the World of Wolves 1996 Whitecap Books 1-55110-491-1 Welcome to the World of Otters 1997 Whitecap Books 1-55110-520-9 Welcome to the World of Bears 1997 Whitecap Books 1-55285-312-8 Welcome to the World of Wild Cats 1997 Whitecap Books 1-55110-615-9 Welcome to the World of Owls 1997 Whitecap Books 1-55110-614-0 Welcome to the World of Eagles 1998 Whitecap Books 1-55110-706-6 Welcome to the World of Foxes 1998 Whitecap Books 1-55110-705-8 Welcome to the World of Raccoons 1998 Whitecap Books 1-55110-782-1 Welcome to the World of Bats 1998 Whitecap Books 1-55110-784-8 Welcome to the World of Beavers 1999 Whitecap Books 1-55110-853-4 Welcome to the World of Moose 1999 Whitecap Books 1-55110-854-2 Welcome to the World of Porcupines 1999 Whitecap Books 1-55110-856-9 Welcome to the World of Skunks 1999 Whitecap Books 1-55110-855-0 Welcome to the World of Rabbits and Hares 2000 Whitecap Books 1-55285-024-2 Welcome to the World of Octopuses 2000 Whitecap Books 1-55285-023-4 Welcome to the World of Squirrels 2001 Whitecap Books 1-55285-259-8 Welcome to the World of Coyotes 2001 Whitecap Books 1-55285-258-X Welcome to the World of Snakes 2001 Whitecap Books 1-55285-171-0 Welcome to the World of Sharks 2001 Whitecap Books 1-55285-170-2 Welcome to the World of Wild Horses 2002 Whitecap Books 1-55285-321-7 Welcome to the World of Hummingbirds 2002 Whitecap Books 1-55285-319-5 Welcome to the World of Frogs and Toads 2002 Whitecap Books 1-55285-354-3 Welcome to the World of Alligators and Crocodiles 2002 Whitecap Books 1-55285-355-1 Welcome to the Whole World of Elephants 2003 Turtleback Books 0-61378-586-X Welcome to the Whole World of Penguins 2003 Whitecap Books 1-55285-450-7 Welcome to the World of Kangaroos 2004 Whitecap Books 1-55285-471-X Welcome to the World of Orangutans 2004 San Val 0-61378-593-2 Welcome to the World of Wolverines 2007 Whitecap Books 1-55285-840-5 Welcome to the World of Spirit Bears 2007 Whitecap Books 1-55285-847-2

Other books Authored Title Published date Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Technology for the Home 1987 British Columbia Ministry of Education A Toothy Tongue and One Long Foot: Nature Activities for Kids 1992 Whitecap Books 1-55110-022-3 The Emerald Sea: Exploring the Underwater Wilderness of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska 1993 Dale Sanders Alaska Northwest Books 0-88240-450-4 Safari Beneath the Sea: The Wonder World of the North Pacific Coast 1994 Demco Media 0-60608-861-X Sky Dancers: The Amazing World of Canadian Birds 1995 Doug Penhale Whitecap Books 1-55110-306-0 Buffalo Sunrise: The Story of a North American Giant 1996 Whitecap Books 1-55110-378-8 Bug Bites: Insects Hunting Insects ... and More 1997 Whitecap Books 1-55285-169-9 Animals Eat the Weirdest Things 1998 Terry Smith Henry Holt and Company (BYR) 0-80505-846-X The Doctor and You 2001 Annick Press 1-55037-672-1 Nibbling on Einstein's Brain: The Good, the Bad and the Bogus in Science 2001 Warren Clark Annick Press 1-55037-686-1 The Dentist & You 2002 Rose Cowles Annick Press 1-55037-729-9 The Balloon Sailors 2003 Krystyna Lipka-Sztarballo Annick Press 1-55037-809-0 Turn It Loose: The Scientist in Absolutely Everybody 2004 Warren Clark Annick Press 1-55037-850-3 The Wonder in Water 2005 Annick Press 1-55037-936-4 A Crash of Rhinos, a Party of Jays: The Wacky Ways We Name Animal Groups 2006 Mariko Ando Spencer Annick Press 1-55451-048-1 Bugs Up Close 2007 Paul Davidson Kids Can Press 1-55453-138-1 Cheetah Cubs and Beetle Grubs: The Wacky Ways We Name Young Animals 2007 Mariko Ando Spencer Annick Press 1-55451-083-X You Are Weird: Your Body's Peculiar Parts and Funny Functions 2009 Kathy Boake Kids Can Press 1-55453-282-5 Animals Aha!: Thrilling Discoveries in Wildlife Science 2009 Annick Press 1-55451-164-X

Co-authored Title Published date Co-author Illustrator/Photographer Publisher ISBN Exploring Canada: Learning from the Past 1985 Vivien Bowers Pgw 0–88894–87 More than Meets the Eye 1989 Vivien Bowers Pacific Educational Press 0-88865-065-5 Why Seals Blow Their Noses: North American Wildlife in Fact and Fiction 1992 Douglas Penhale Douglas Penhale Whitecap Books 1-55110-038-X Squirts and Snails and Skinny Green Tails : Seashore Nature Activities for Kids 1993 Warren Clark Warren Clark Whitecap Books 1-55110-062-2 Coyotes in the Crosswalk: Canadian Wildlife in the City 1994 Douglas Penhale Douglas Penhale Whitecap Books 1-55110-140-8 The Day of the Twelve Story Wave: Grinding Glaciers, Howling Hurricanes, Spewing Volcanoes, and Other Awesome Forces of Nature 1995 Laura Cook Laura Cook Longstreet Press 1-56352-260-8

Awards Swanson was recipient of the following awards: