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I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spending memorable long summers in Hawaii, Virginia, and the north woods of Minnesota. Stray animals, wild animals, deep woods, ocean waves, storms and lakes helped shape my love for science and the natural world. During high school and college I discovered the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, which became a lifelong magnet. After graduating from the University of Minnesota in English and Art, I lived in California for several years before moving back to Minnesota to teach special education and English.

My interest in writing for children ranges from poetry, picture books, non-fiction, to middle grade novels. My teaching spanned grades K-12 in settings from elementary to juvenile detention to teaching teen parents. From my teaching I learned that books are windows, glue, tunnels, and telescopes for children at any level of learning.

I wrote and illustrated my my picture book, SOMEONE WALKS BY, The Wonders of Winter Wildlife, published by Raven Productions which won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for children's literature, perhaps the only picture book to win in that category. It also won silver honors from Midwestern Independent Publishers' Award, and the bronze for Moonbean Children's Book Awards.

SUMMER OF THE WOLVES, my debut novel also won the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award for children's literature, and silver honors from the Midland Author's Society; it was a finalist in the National Homeschool Book Awards and was appeared in Bank Street College's Best Children's Books of the Year 2013.

A FREE TEACHER'S GUIDE references common core curriculum cross curricular objectives for grades 4, 6, and 7. It is available through Houghton Mifflin or on my web site: https://pollycarlsonvoiles.wordpress.com/

With our children grown, my husband,Steve Voiles, and I retired from teaching, and moved north to live full time in the wild and beautiful lap of the BWCAW, outside of Ely, Minnesota, where the wolves howl and leave their tracks at the bottom of our driveway.

I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spending memorable long summers in Hawaii, Virginia, and the north woods of Minnesota. Stray animals, wild animals, deep woods, ocean waves, storms and lakes helped shape my love for science and the natural world. During high school and college I discovered the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, which became a lifelong magnet. After graduating from the... More