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 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.

As a young child, I penned &illustrated many stories.   And when I say "penned", they were literally done in pen.  All creativity, no worries about grammar or conventions.  My parents were so sweet to save most of them - no easy task with five crazy girls running rampant in the household.

Here are a few samples of books I created way back in the day:

Because I loved making stories, my parents once gave me a picture book as a gift, with this amazing 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.)