~ All About Me
Like many children's authors, I grew up with a crazy love for books, reading, and writing.
I lived out in the country and spent my time either romping in the woods, or I had my nose
buried in a book. My favorites? Well, the Little House on the Prairie series, Charlotte's
Web, and ANYTHING by Beverly Cleary or Judy Blume.
In fact, when I grew up and had kids of my own, my mother gave me the tons of books
she has saved from my childhood to pass down to my daughters. (Reading was really
important to my parents.)
I lived out in the country and spent my time either romping in the woods, or I had my nose
buried in a book. My favorites? Well, the Little House on the Prairie series, Charlotte's
Web, and ANYTHING by Beverly Cleary or Judy Blume.
In fact, when I grew up and had kids of my own, my mother gave me the tons of books
she has saved from my childhood to pass down to my daughters. (Reading was really
important to my parents.)
In school, English was always my favorite subject. I liked it SO much that I studied it in
college. After high school, I went to the University of Texas - Austin (HOOK 'EM HORNS!)
and received a degree in English Literature. Now, what some of you might find interesting
is that I had a double minor - Greek Literature and MONKEYS! Actually, they call it
primatology (the study of primates). I was fascinated by primates and took as many
physical anthropology classes as I could. I sat in a room for hours each week, watching
monkeys and studying them (weird, but sort of cool!).
My love of reading and writing (plus, my knowledge of monkeys) came in pretty
handy-dandy when I became a teacher. Today, I teach 4th grade RELA and I LOVE my
job! In Texas, 4th grade is ALL about writing. So being a writer is a great advantage w
hen teaching my students.
I began writing for kids in 2003. Since then, I have three picture books published and
more than thirty non-fiction books. I love learning so I am especially crazy about
non-fiction. My books cover topics like animals, roller coasters, spies, and celebrities. So,
I suppose all that time I spent reading paid off!
Now, I live in north Houston, TX with my husband, two daughters, one big, adorable old
dog, a talkative, spoiled-rotten cat, a cute prickly hedgehog, and a lazy fish.
Click here for weird facts about me and the answers to some frequently asked questions
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| One of my favorite things about being an author is working on the couch in my jammies! |
| Me signing the author wall at Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston :) |
| hedgehog! |