June Toher
June Toher, a journalism graduate of Marquette University, started out as a newspaper reporter and magazine columnist, and later wrote and directed a local television news program. During her career she won several mass communications awards. A native of Massachusetts, she now lives in Virginia.
After participating in the first Earth Day &.... more
June Toher, a journalism graduate of Marquette University, started out as a newspaper reporter and magazine columnist, and later wrote and directed a local television news program. During her career she won several mass communications awards. A native of Massachusetts, she now lives in Virginia.
After participating in the first Earth Day — its 50th anniversary was April 22, 2020 — the author continued to study the benefits of renewable energy and the consequences of burning fossil fuels. Her recent research revealed the particularly harmful effects of these toxic gases on human lungs, especially in children. Her magical realism, youth climate-action novel, Tying the Leaves, demonstrates this impact through the eyes of a child.
She also explored clean-energy, cutting-edge technologies from around the globe and the forces obstructing the United States from transitioning to a clean-energy economy. She incorporated her findings into her story.
The author has been impressed with the many youth organizations all over the world which have taken on the challenge to address the climate crisis. The child activists in her novel convey the real-life determination and passion of these young people.
The title for Tying the Leaves, was inspired by the song, “I’m Tying the Leaves So They Won’t Come Down,” which her grandfather sang to her when she was a little girl. The original song was written by Erasmus Huntington in 1907.