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I was born in Washington, D.C., went home to Falls Church, Va. five days later, and it seems as if I have been on the move ever since. Between an FBI agent father and a husband who works for a multinational corporation I have lived in Newark, New Jersey and Bangkok, Thailand and just about everywhere in between.
I have always been a writer, but have only been a PUBLISHED writer since I sold my first book, MY BEST FRIEND in 1999. Up until then, I was every kind of librarian you can think of: public, school, university, but whatever my official job title, it always involved children's literature. In 2000 I received an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College.
I write both picture books, and middle grade historical fiction. My favorite part of my job (although it seems too much fun to be a job!) is visiting schools and talking to students. I would like all students everywhere to realize that they are part of history, even if their name is not in a textbook. Most of my books are based on stories my parents or grandparents told me about their own childhoods. I'd like kids to know that even if clothes styles have changed, and your great-grandpa never heard of an I-pod, the way they felt about life and friends and school are the same today as they were a hundred years ago.

I was born in Washington, D.C., went home to Falls Church, Va. five days later, and it seems as if I have been on the move ever since. Between an FBI agent father and a husband who works for a multinational corporation I have lived in Newark, New Jersey and Bangkok, Thailand and just about everywhere in between. I have always been a writer, but have only been a PUBLISHED writer since I sold my fi... More