PERSONAL

Carol was born on December 15th, 1945 to Lewis H. and Mary Gladys Olson. Her father was a veteran of the First World War. He served in the Battle of the Meuse Argonne and the Army of Occupation. Her mother was a first grade teacher. She married Robert Dick in 1967. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and one grand-daughter. Carol graduated from Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington, where she majored in English and Education. She earned a Masters of Arts from Lesley College of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She adopted the Danish spelling of her maiden name (Olsen) for use in teaching, writing and publishing.

ADDRESSES:

Contact Carol through Gig Harbor Press at 4002 32nd Ave Ct NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

CAREER:

Carol was a public school teacher for a span of 33 years and is now retired. She taught in Federal Way, WA, Chesapeake, VA, and Gig Harbor WA. She is the owner of Gig Harbor Press and a member of the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

AWARDS & HONORS:

National recognition for the character of Left-over Louie (Scholastic and Morrow Junior Books)

Innovations in Computer Education Award 1998 (Intel)

Mary Lee Squires Team Award 1998. (Peninsula School District School Board-Gig Harbor, WA)

Founding teacher-Gifted and Talented Program-1984 (Peninsula School District-Gig Harbor, WA)

National board member-Scholastic Technology Advisory Board-Computer Integration Think Tank--1998

WRITINGS & PUBLICATIONS:

Left-over Louie©, Gig Harbor Press, 1993

Slime©, Gig Harbor Press, 1994

Camp Write-Away Goes to the Circus©, Gig Harbor Press, 1996

Camp Write-Away Goes to Broadway©, Gig Harbor Press (not available)

Camp Write-Away Goes to Hollywood©, Gig Harbor Press (not available)

Taste of Camp Write-Away©, Gig Harbor Press (not available)

Kids Book of Fifty Great States© "Washington Chapter," Scholastic Inc. 1997

Careers in Motion©-an online course-Internet Academy, Federal Way Public Schools

Geography 2000©-an online course-Internet Academy, Federal Way Public Schools

Camp Write-Away©-an online course-Internet Academy, Federal Way Public Schools

Native Americans©-an online course revision-Internet Academy, Federal Way Public Schools

SIDELIGHTS:

"I've always loved books. As a child I set up my own lending library, complete with date-due cards. I got the idea from reading a book called, "The Birds Christmas Carol," a humorous and compassionate story of an invalid girl who brought joy to her family and neighbors through creative service. Other books that shaped my life were Heidi, Little Women, and the Nancy Drew mysteries.

All my life I wanted to be a teacher. My mother taught first grade and told us humorous stories about her students. As the baby of the family, I often had to entertain myself. I played school with my cats and dolls posing as students. I liked to make up games, stories, and riddles. In college, while majoring in English, I was exposed to great literature and discovered a talent for writing and storytelling.