“Pediatric dentists will certainly approve of this picture book . . . [It] covers much ground—from explaining why children should not suck their
thumbs to illustrating more useful activities for thumbs . . . Bright, colorful
illustrations accompany the rhyming text."
—Children's Literature
Wanda Dionne presents the problem of thumb-sucking through the point of view
of a child's thumb that must encounter sharp teeth, weird sounds, and other
dark, scary things. Little Thumb, illustrated by Jana
Dillon, is Dionne's first picture book. It teaches children the importance of
not sucking their thumbs, and discourages this bad habit without presenting the
topic in a disapproving tone. The book not only teaches children that
thumb-sucking is unhealthy, it also tells children how useful thumbs can be,
from snapping fingers to fastening buttons.
A native of Port Arthur, Texas, Dionne grew up with her mother and her
father, who was a Sabine pilot in Port Arthur. After attending Thomas Jefferson
High School, she graduated from Baylor University, where she received a bachelor's
degree in journalism.
Dionne has written professionally for various newspapers and magazines and is
a former women's editor of The Orange (Texas) Leader and entertainment
editor/celebrity reporter for The Tampa Tribune. Dionne's first fiction
pieces were books for middle readers, some inspired by creative-writing classes
she took while at North Harris County Community College.
A mother of two children, Dionne lives in the Woodlands, near Houston, Texas,
with her husband, Bert.