I was born in Southern California where my parents, four sisters and I whiled away days among avocado trees, mountains & sunshine.  When I was nine, my family moved to a small college town in Southern Illinois. My sisters and I spent the first month in our new house, a two story house and such a different house than the one level ranch-style homes in California, climbing the stairs and sliding down them on our bottoms.  Who needed toys when you have stairs?

My dad was a professor, and I feel fortunate that the home he and my mother created for us included lots of books, lots of pets, lots of freedom and lots of opportunities to explore life outdoors. 

As a child I ran barefoot, rode bareback, chased fireflies, climbed trees, caught crawdads in the creek, secretly raided  vegetable gardens, and (quite cleverly), rigged playing cards to my Huffy bicycle spokes with clothespins to create a motor sound when I pedaled. 

It was a lime green "boys" Huffy bicycle. 
I was cool. Or so I thought.

My parents nurtured a love of the outdoors in all of us.  My sisters and I played in tune to the rhythm of seasons, and to this day I find that nature and making adventure outdoors remains an important part of my creative process when writing for children.

I also spent a lot of time creating and illustrating stories when I was young, most of them about my pets.  I loved to draw, and I loved books.  Here are a few samples of books I created as a child:

Because I loved making stories, my parents gave me a picture book as a gift, with this inscription:

I grew up to be an educator, like my dad.  I submitted my first story for publication in 1998 while I was teaching - author Byrd Baylor was invited to speak to the students at my school and during her talk, she also inspired me to write for children. 

My first published picture book, Way Out in the Desert, was accepted by the first publisher it was submitted to.  Beginner's luck, for certain.  
 
Following the success of my first publication came additional titles, including, Somewhere in the Ocean, Over in the Garden, The Seed and the Giant Saguaro, Forest Bright, Forest Night, The Little Creek, There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea, Way Up in the Arctic, and Because You Are My Baby, I Love Dirt!, The Busy Tree, and Let's Go Outside!  In 2010, There Was an Old Monkey Who Swallowed a Frog will debut into the world, followed by There Was an Odd Princess Who Swallowed a Pea in 2011.

  
With my sister Kris, who also happens to be my BFF.  And L-R: my dad, mom, me, sister Kris, her husband Mars, & sis-scientist-turned-pastry-chef, Deb.
 

In addition to writing full time, I spend a lot of time with my family - because they're amazing people, fun to be with & I love them.  I divide my time between Tucson, AZ (my home away from home) and Edwardsville, IL (my home.)