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The Story behind each story!

	Rising Moon, spring 2007 © 2005 by Jennifer Ward illustrations © 2006 by Steve Gray Ages 4 - 8 - 32 Pages - Fully illustrated up		The idea to translate the classic rhyme I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly into a southwestern version seems like it should have been a brainless one, for me. For one, I live in the desert where coyotes are an integral part of my life. I am an astute observer of wildlife and treasure my encounters with coyotes. I am also a writer who works in rhyme and holds a strong appreciation for traditional children's books. Even so, after eight years of writing books and over 20 years observing coyotes in my backyard, it wasn't until 2005 that my favorite desert animal (coyote) and the lyrical, timeless rhythm of the traditional OLD LADY song combined in my brain and came pouring forth in spicy deliciousness. Good things do come to those who wait! Enjoy!
	The Story Behind the Story... Western National Parks Association 1-58369-057-3 © 2005 by Jennifer Ward illustrations © 2005 by Julie Scott Purchase up		Western National Parks, the publisher, contacted me to see if I would be interested in writing a picture book about riparian areas for them. They were familiar with my other published titles, and liked my writing style. I met with the editor and discussed the theme they were hoping to achieve with the plot. From there, I spent several months researching riparian areas: how they form, what plants they host and what animals rely on them. I also researched the many threats that riparian areas face and how important they are to all living things. After several rounds of revisions and guidance from my editor, biologists and the park director from Montezuma's Castle, The Little Creek was finished. Proceeds from this book benefit Western National Parks.
	The Story Behind the Story... Dawn Publications, ISBN 1-58469-066-6 by Jennifer Ward © 2002 by Jennifer Ward illustrations © 2002 by Jamichael Henterly Purchase up		Forest Bright, Forest Night is a flip-flop book. This means the reader physically flips the book over while reading it; it's two books in one! I originally was inspired to write a book depicting diurnal and nocturnal animals of the Sonoran desert. After completing this manuscript, titled One Sun, One Moon, in the Desert, I sent it to my publisher, Rising Moon. As can happen on occasion, the story was rejected. Determined to find my manuscript a home, I researched other potential markets, ultimately submitting it to Dawn Publications, aware of the fact that they publish nature books for children. Upon receiving my manuscript, Dawn contacted me and said they liked the premise for the story, but asked if I'd be willing to change the habitat from a desert to a deciduous forest. Always up for a challenge, I agreed to give it a go. After several months of revisions and almost two years in production, my flip-flop book was born.
	The Story Behind the Story... Rising Moon, ISBN 0-87358-845-2 by Jennifer Ward ©2000 by Jennifer Ward illustrations © 2002 by Mike Rangner Purchase		Having lived in the Sonoran desert for over twenty years, it was not hard to find inspiration to write about the amazing saguaro cactus. I knew I wanted to write a story about how a saguaro might come to grow in the desert, so I played with different types of text organizations. Cumulative text seemed most fitting, since it "grows", just as the saguaro in my book would ultimately grow. The Seed and the Giant Saguaro went through tremendous rounds of revisions: self-inflicted revisions, editorial revisions, critique group revisions. Originally, I had an ant as the main character. The ant stole a seed from the saguaro fruit and was then pursued by a lizard, who was then pursued by a bird, and so on (a food chain!) My amazing editor at Rising Moon, Theresa, suggested replacing the ant with a packrat. Much cuter! Don't you think?
	The Story Behind the Story... Rising Moon, ISBN 0-87358-793-6 ©2002 by Jennifer Ward illustrations © 2002 by Kenneth J. Spengler Purchase Hidden numbers in each illustration! Musical score and glossary in the back.		Over in the Garden is the third title in my companion series with Rising Moon. It's patterned after the classic song Over in the Meadow, by Olive Wadsworth. Children count and sing and rhyme their way through a habitat. Timeless fun! Knowing my publisher was interested in acquiring a third title to act as a companion for my other two, I created several stories as options, such as Over in the Jungle, and, Way Up in the Arctic. However, my daughter's 2nd grade class was studying insects and arachnids at this same time, and my daughter was crazy over collecting bugs and creating habitats for them to live in -in our house! Every bug in this book was a pet in our home, albeit temporarily. Hence, the creation of Over in the Garden.
	The Story Behind the Story... Rising Moon, ISBN 0-87358-748-0 ©2000 by Jennifer Ward and T.J. Marsh illustrations © 2000 by Kenneth J. Spengler Purchase Musical score and glossary in the back. Hidden numbers in each illustration.		Somewhere in the Ocean is my second published children's book. It followed my first book, Way Out in the Desert. Following Way Out in the Desert's success, my publisher was interested in a companion title. I was born in California and spent much of my childhood exploring tide pools, body surfing, digging up sand crabs and sailing on the ocean's surface. Presently, my family and I frequent the amazing Baja of California (Sea of Cortez), just a few hours south of our home in Arizona. We've traveled and snorkeled in the second largest barrier reef (in Belize), among spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, eels and rainbows of tropical fish. We've also spent time in the tropical underwater world of the Dominican Republic, and I've enjoyed scuba diving in the waters of Florida. Creating a companion title set in the ocean was a natural choice for me! The hardest part was deciding which ten animals would be featured in the book; there are so many to choose from! The ocean is such a diverse biome!
	The Story Behind the Story... Rising Moon, 0-87358-687-5 © 1998 by Jennifer Ward and T.J. Marsh illustrations © 1998 by Kenneth J. Spengler Purchase Musical score and glossary included. Curriculum guide for teachers.		Way Out in the Desert was the first book I had published. It was published in 1998 by Rising Moon. In the late 90's, I took a year off from teaching to spend more time with my daughter, who was three. Prior to this, I had been teaching for seven years. The school I taught at, Los Ranchitos Elementary in Tucson, AZ, arranged authors to visit with students each year. This was a first "real author" experience for many students, and for me, as well. I had never met a children's author before! It was after listening to these authors, particularly Byrd Baylor, that I became determined and inspired to write children's books. I give 100% credit to my daughter Kelly for the creation of Way Out in the Desert. She toddled up to me with a book in her hands one summer afternoon, asking that I read to her. The book she plopped into my lap was Over in the Meadow, by Olive Wadsworth. (I knew this book inside and out having taught kindergarten for ages!) However, on this particular day I looked at the cover and a light bulb went off. I exclaimed, rather excitedly, "This would make a great children's book! Way Out in the Desert!" Replace the meadow theme with a desert theme. Genius! I never expected this manuscript to get published. I returned to teaching the following fall simply feeling proud of myself for having accomplished one of my goals during my year off from teaching (write a children's book.) Not long after the school year started, I returned home one evening to find a very special message on my answering machine from Rising Moon, making an offer to publish my first book.