See Illustrators

Click on author to view profile

General Author Locations
         Author / Illustrator Interviews

School Visit Info

Scotti Cohn (One Wolf Howls) is a freelance writer and editor living in central Illinois. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and the author of five nonfiction books published by The Globe Pequot Press, with a sixth book scheduled for publication by Globe in 2009. Her short stories have appeared in numerous magazines for young people, and her poems about animals have appeared in Highlights for Children and Zootles magazines. Currently, she is working on several picture book ideas along with a fantasy novel for young adults. Scotti has two adult children. She and her husband Ray share their home with five cats. However, Scotti also has a special place in her heart for dogs and their magnificent ancestor, the wolf. Visit Scotti's Website / School Visit Info.

Laura Crawford (In Arctic Waters)

is currently the reading specialist at Sleepy Hollow School in the Chicago area. While teaching a science unit on the Arctic region, she became fascinated with the unique animals of the Arctic.  The cumulative tale, In Arctic Waters, is the result of her curiosity and was written with her students in mind. Laura is also the author of The Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving From A to Z and some leveled readers for Scott Foresman. She is an active member in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and credits her success to the SCBWI critique groups. In her free time, Laura loves to visit the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago with her nieces Madilynn and Lauren. They love the belugas!                                       

Jennifer Keats Curtis (Turtles in My Sandbox and Baby Owl's Rescue, Fall 2009) wants to help bring children close to the animals in their own backyards. By diligently researching her topic and interviewing real experts, including children working to help preserve and protect local wildlife, the journalist has developed a knack for teaching young children about important ecological issues and what they can do to help. Jennifer's first book, Oshus and Shelly Save the Bay, won the Frederick Douglass Award (Maryland Council of Teachers of English Language Arts). She also wrote Osprey Adventure, based on the work of Peter McGowan, a biologist with US Fish & Wildlife. Most days, Jennifer can be found among students and teachers, talking about literacy or conservation. She also regularly presents writing workshops to elementary school sudents. When she's not in schools, Jennifer contributes to several magazines and serves as editor-at-large for Maryland Life Magazine. Avid fans of anything having to do with the outdoors, Jennifer and her family spend their summers in and on the Chesapeake Bay. She resides in Maryland, with her family and a wide variety of pets, including a turtle. Visit Jennifer's Website / School Visit Info.

          back to top

Jean Heilprin Diehl (Loon Chase) and her family have visited and lived in New Hampshire since the late 19th century and still own a cabin on Silver Lake, where loons nest every summer. Her Springer spaniel, Miles, loved to swim in the lake and provided the inspiration for Loon Chase." Jean is an award-winning author and critic whose work has appeared in such journals and anthologies as the Indiana Review, Antietam Review, Fodderwing, Sycamore Review, Kestrel, Many Mountains Moving, The Journal, and Great Writers/Great Stories.                                                                                            

Terri Fields (Burro's Tortilla) has written seventeen books which have garnered a number of awards including the Maud Hart Lovelace Award for Middle Grades Fiction, the Georgia Children’s Choice Award, being named to the Recommended Reading List for Chicago Public School, the TAYSHAS (Texas) Reading List, the Southwest Books of the Year List, and as one of the 100 Top Kid Picks in Children’s Books in Arizona. A long time desert-dweller, Ms Fields has enjoyed sharing her books with children all over the world. In addition to writing, Ms. Fields is also a educator who has been named Arizona Teacher of the Year, ING Education Innovator for Arizona, and been selected as one of the twenty teachers on the All-USA Teacher Team of the nation’s top educators. Her high-school English students have won local, regional and/or national creative writing awards for thirty-four consecutive years. Ms. Fields sees the world around her in terms of the wonderful stories it reveals. Visit Terri's Website / School Visit Info.                                                                                                                    

Doris Fisher (Happy Birthday to Whooo?, My Half Day, One Odd Day, and My Even Day) loves writing in verse. She has written a biography, Kelly Clarkson, and a six book series, Grammar All-Stars: The Parts of Speech for Gareth Stevens. Doris is a member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her children’s writing includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, word puzzles and mazes. She has been published in various children’s magazines including Babybug, Highlights for Children, and Wee Ones Magazine. Doris and her husband live in the Houston, Texas area. They have two grown children. Visit Doris' Website / School Visit Info.      

back to top

Carole Gerber (Little Red Bat, Spring 2010) has written over a hundred science and reading textbooks, a multicultural folktale series, several adult nonfiction books, two chapter books, and 14 picture books. Her recent picture book, Winter Trees, was selected as a 2009 Outstanding Trade Book by the National Science Teachers' Association and the Children's Book Council. Other awards include NSTA and Cooperative Children’s Book Center commendations for Leaf Jumpers, a CCBC commendation for Blizzard, and a Parent Council Award of Excellence for Hush! A Gaelic Lullaby.  Carole is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and participates as an Artist in Schools through the Greater Columbus, Ohio, Arts Council. She is frequently invited to elementary schools as a visiting author. She and her husband, Mark, have been married for more than 30 years. They are the parents of two grown daughters, Paige and Jess, and two grandchildren, Sara and Tyler. For more information, visit her website at http://www.carolegerber.com/. (Author photo credit: Carolyn Meiners.)

Valarie Giogas JOE-gus (In My Backyard) has been writing since she was a young child. As a teacher, her favorite part of teaching was the books. She’s been writing for children ever since she discovered that she could combine her love for children’s literature with her passion for writing. The idea for In My Backyard began when her son was in preschool. They always drove by a gaggle of geese and he would giggle when she told him the group name. When the geese had goslings, the idea for this book was cemented. A member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Valarie has also written articles for Hopscotch Magazine. Valarie and her family live in a suburb of Boston.  Visit Valarie's Website / School Visit Info.  

Laura Goering, pronounced Gehring, (Whistling Wings) is a professor of Russian language and literature (including Russian Literature for Children) at Carleton College. Every fall, people travel from all over the Upper Midwest to Alma, Wisconsin, to view the thousands of whistling swans (also called tundra swans), who stop there on the way from their breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska to their wintering grounds in the Chesapeake Bay area. It was this spectacle that inspired Laura to write Whistling Wings. While Laura has poems published in anthologies and several magazine articles to her credit, this is her first picture book. Laura, her husband, and their daughter live in Minnesota. Visit Laura's Website / School Visit Info.

back to top

Janet Halfmann (Fur and Feathers, Fall 2010, and Little Skink’s Tail) is the award-winning author of more than thirty children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction. Other recent titles include Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, Good Night, Little Sea Otter, Little Black Ant on Park Street, and Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story. Janet is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Before becoming a children’s author, Janet was a daily newspaper reporter, children’s magazine editor, and a creator of coloring and activity books for Golden Books. She is the mother of four and the grandmother of four. When Janet isn’t writing, she enjoys gardening, exploring nature, visiting living-history museums, and spending time with her family. She grew up on a farm in Michigan and now lives in South  Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For more information, visit her website: http://www.janethalfmann.com.

Jeanne Walker Harvey (Astro the Steller Sea Lion, Fall 2010) has been a long timemember of SCBWI with publications in Writer's Digest, Cricket Magazine, Nation’s Business, SCBWI's ACORN, Creativity Connection, Parent's Expecting and Teachers of Vision, including articles pertaining to nature and marine animals. Currently, she teaches Language Arts and a Writing Workshop at her local public middle school. She has a degree in English literature and psychology from Stanford University.  For many years, she volunteered as a school docent for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Marin Literacy Program. Growing up in Orange County, California, she was always fascinated by the ocean and marine mammals.  She lives in Marin County, California, with her husband and two teenage sons and a black lab who sits at her feet when she writes. (Photo credit ©2009 PhilipHarvey.com)

Fran Hawk's favorite things are children, books,

and writing. Writing children's books is her dream come true, because it combines all three. Fran resides in South Carolina, and when the famous Hunley submarine was raised from Charleston harbor, she wrote a children's book about the event. Her next book was called Ten Tips for

Raising Readers, in which Fran shares all the best information she had gathered about bringing

children and books together. One autumn afternoon, Fran was walking as leaves drifted down all around her. She realized she only knew the names of a few of them, so she got some leaf books from the library and worked on identifying them. Then, she thought it would be interesting to write a children's book that would make it fun to learn the names of leaves. The result was Count Down to Fall (Fall 2009).

back to top

Janet Ruth Heller (How the Moon Regained Her Shape) has her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago. After a career of almost 30 years of teaching at various colleges and universities, she is currently an assistant professor for the English Department at Western Michigan University. She has taught a wide variety of classes, including creative writing and literature for children. Janet is a prolific writer of poetry and stories that have been published in a wide variety of magazines and journals. She is a founding mother of Primavera, a literary magazine based in Chicago. Her book of literary criticism, Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama, was published in 1990 by the University of Missouri Press. Janet's School Visit Info / School Visit Info.  

John Himmelman (Tudley Didn't Know) has written and/or illustrated over 60 children's books since 1981. His award-winning book "Pipaluk and the Whales" (published by National Geographic) is based on the true story of how far people will go to save their wild neighbors. John's "Nature Upclose" series of 13 different books (published by Children's Press, a division of Scholastic) includes such titles as: A Monarch Butterfly's Life, A Pillbug's Life, A Luna Moth's Life, and A Woodfrog's, Life. He based his Animal Rescue Club (Harper Collins) beginning reader book on a group of real children who rescued orphaned and injured wildlife. John's first book for adults, Discovering Moths, was recently published by Downeast Books. Most of John's book stem from his obvious passion for animals and nature. When John isn't busy writing or illustrating his books, he is involved with the CT Butterfly Association, the Killingworth Land Conservation Trust, leads nature walks and gives natural history lectures throughout the country. He works with schools by offering special science observation programs, and teaches courses on children's book writing. As if he isn't busy enough, John has two children (one in college and one in high school) and a working wife (high school art teacher) with a busy life of her own. John says he has never lost his love of reading and ends each day curled up in bed with a good book! Visit John's Website / School Visit Info.  

Ron Hirschi (Ocean Seasons) lives on a small island in western Washington and walks the beach most days of the year. As a biologist, he also spends much time on the water, learning about and helping salmon and other aquatic fish and wildlife. As an author, he brings the excitement of what he learns onto the pages of books for young readers. Ron has written over 50 children’s books. His books have been listed as Best Science Trade Books of the year, and won the John Burroughs Nature Book among other awards. Several of his books have been featured on Reading Rainbow. In addition to writing, Ron enjoys working directly with kids and takes them outside during his many school visits. They net fish to study water quality or search for frogs and salamanders in small ponds. They also study ocean life and it was on a trip to the beach with a group of elementary students that he got the idea for this book. Ron helped to raise the funds to purchase a tidal wetland that is now an environmental learning center and critical habitat for endangered salmon. His book, Salmon, remains a fund raiser for this (Nick’s Lagoon) project. Visit Ron's Website / School Visit Info.  
 

back to top

Kimberly Hutmacher (Paws, Claws, Hands, and Feet) has written numerous pieces of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children’s magazines and anthologies. She has also written three eBooks for the educational website “A to Z Kid’s Stuff” and served as poetry editor for Wee Ones Magazine for two years. Kimberly has homeschooled her three children for several years and they have a huge love and curiosity for science. A few years ago, when gathering material for a science lesson on how animals use their appendages, Kimberly had a difficult time finding material geared toward preschool and early elementary students. The seed was planted, and she set out to write her own book that would present the materials in a lively and engaging way for younger audiences. The result was her first picture book, Paws, Claws, Hands, and Feet, to be published by Sylvan Dell Publishing in Spring 2009. Kimberly lives in Illinois. Visit her School Visit Info.

Catherine Ipcizade (pronounced ip-chi-zah'-deh) ('Twas the Day Before Zoo Day) has written for numerous publications, both in print and on-line, and also works as an assistant editor for Thirteen Minutes Magazine. In addition to writing and blogging, Catherine likes to spend time with her husband and two children, cozy up with a good book, spend time in the kitchen cooking and baking, and practicing photography. Catherine is a member of SCBWI and volunteers for The Little Owl Mentoring Program, a program that pairs published writers with high school students who wish to be writers. In addition to 'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day, she also has also written African Animals: Giraffes; African Animals: Lions; and African Animals: Zebras. Catherine and her family live in southern California. Visit Catherine's Website / School Visit Info.                                       

Gail Langer Karwoski (Water Beds, River Beds, and Julie the Rockhound) is an award-winning children’s book writer. In addition to Julie the Rockhound and Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean (Mom’s Choice Best Children’s Picture Book Author for 2005), published by Sylvan Dell, Gail has written six other books for young readers including: Tsumani: The True Story of an April Fool’s Day Disaster and Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906. Before becoming a full time author, Gail taught in Georgia public schools. She frequently returns to schools as a visiting author. Gail married a rockhound. On their honeymoon, they hiked through lush western forests and stark “forests” of petrified wood. They dove into foamy aquamarine waves in the Pacific Ocean and dug into crumbly turquoise deposits in the Southwestern desert. Since then, they’ve gone “treasure hunting” for geodes, fossils, and crystals. At the schools where she taught, her classroom was famous because of the “rock box.” Now, as owners of a quartz deposit in South Carolina where visitors can try their luck at digging for crystals, Gail and her husband have watched hundreds of people – both young and old – delight in finding sparkly quartz crystals. She wrote Julie the Rockhound to share this delight in our earth’s treasures with children and their parents. Gail lives near the University of Georgia with her husband, two daughters, and three bossy cats.  Visit Gail's Website / School Visit Info.                                                                       

Jennifer Kramer (Ocean Hide and Seek) loves spending time outdoors and believes children make the very best nature guides. Jennifer graduated with a BA from Emory University and a JD/MBA from Georgia State University. At Emory, she took classes in Child Psychology and Education, and worked with children at Fernbank Elementary, The Phoenix School, and the St. Stephens Infant School in Canterbury, England. Her favorite time was recess, though she was hopeless at jumping rope and hide-and-seek. The kids always found her! It was also at Emory that Jennifer obtained her NAUI scuba certification. Her first dive trip was to a rock quarry in Alabama, where there were no sea animals. Since then, she has snorkeled and dived off Maui, the Caymans, and the coast of Cozumel. She loves to talk about coming face-to-face with a white tipped reef shark! In addition to Ocean Hide and Seek (Spring 2009), Jennifer has also written Good Luck Charlie and The Ninth Dragon. She has fiction and non-fiction stories and articles published with Highlights for Children, Ladybug, Educational Testing, McGraw Hill, and more. Jennifer currently resides in Georgia, with her husband, four children, and a standard poodle that thinks he is Elvis. Visit Jennifer's Website / School Visit Info.

Kevin Kurtz (A Day on the Mountain, Fall 2010, and A Day in the Salt Marsh) has loved books and nature since he was a kid growing up in upstate New York. He holds degrees in English literature and elementary education and started his professional career working in a marine biology laboratory. For the past decade, Kevin has combined all of these experiences by working as an environmental educator and curriculum writer for organizations such as the South Carolina Aquarium, the Center for Birds of Prey, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the South Carolina Marine Educators Association.  He has written and edited the South Carolina Aquarium's award-winning K-8 curriculum, as well as curriculum activities for NOAA, the College of Charleston's COASTeam project, and the Center for Birds of Prey. He also helped develop and was the first coordinator of the South Carolina Aquarium's High School Intern Program, which won AZA's Diversity award. Kevin is currently the Education Director of the Science Factory Children's Museum in Eugene, Oregon, where he is abut fifty miles from the Cascades Mountains and fifty miles from salt marshes. Visit Kevin's Website / School Visit Info.

Karen Lee (ABC Safari) has turned from illustrator to author/illustrator with ABC Safari. A visit to the Mote Marine Aquarium with her family inspired a series of drawings and poems beginning with the manatees she discovered there. She comments “They are surprisingly beautiful, comical, and graceful.” Her sketchbook soon represented animals from all over the world. Karen has spent over three years on this project which was the runner up for the 2005 SCBWI Don Freeman Grant. She is also the recipient of the 2004 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Illustration for her wok in Highlights For Children. Karen has illustrated three other books for Sylvan Dell, One Odd Day, My Even Day, and My Half Day. She and her husband, also an illustrator, are raising their family outside of Raleigh, NC. Karen’s children join her on many research trips to museums, zoos and aquariums – tough job, but someone has to do it!  Visit Karen's Website / School Visit Info.                                    

Barbara Mariconda (Ten for Me, Fall 2010, and Sort it Out!) is one of those people who “has done it all!” An educator (K-6), a mentor teacher, an adjunct professor of Children’s Literature and Process Writing, Barbara has also written a wide variety of musicals, songs, and books. She has worked with Children’s Television Workshop and Cherry Lane music on the creative staff of the Sesame Street Music Magazine. In addition to writing workbooks and beginning readers, her middle grade novel, Turn the Cup Around, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for best children’s mystery.  She has also published numerous professional books for teachers, frequently speaks on the topic of writing for and with children, and provides professional development for teachers at seminars across the country. She is a partner in the educational seminar/consulting firm, Empowering Writers, LLC., and is a member of SCBWI. Visit Barbara's Website / School Visit Info.      

Lynne Mayer (Newton and Me, Spring 2010) grew up in Palos Park, Illinois. She attended the University of Illinois where she obtained her degree in computer science/math and developed her love of puzzles and educational reading. She is currently an adjunct instructor of computer science at Elgin Community College. The college has provided Lynne with the opportunity to travel to exotic places. She has visited the Amazon jungle in Peru as well as the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Often inspired by the outdoors, she will be returning to the jungle in June 2009 for her third visit. Now that her children are grown, Lynne is finally pursuing her dream of writing educational children’s books. For more information, visit her website: http://lynnemayer.com.

back to top

John McGranaghan (Saturn for My Birthday) has always been fascinated by outer space but it was his youngest son, Kyle, who asked for the planet Saturn for his fourth birthday. That request became the inspiration for Saturn for My Birthday. John has also written stories and articles for Boys’ Quest Magazine, Pockets Magazine, Columbia Magazine, and local newspapers. He is winner of the 2001 Pockets Fiction Contest. When John isn’t writing, he enjoys sports and spending time with his wife and two boys. John currently works as a school counselor in the Philadelphia suburbs. This is his first picture book. Visit John's Website / School Visit Info.

Susan K. Mitchell (The Rainforest Grew All Around and Kersplatypus) is a children’s author with many hats in her collection: author, mom, wife, pre-school teacher, and Spanish teacher. Susan loves creating a silly world of words for kids.  The idea of Kersplatypus quite literally came from a word she made up when her youngest daughter fell down one day. Surrounded by kids all day, every day, she has no shortage of story ideas. Susan is also the author of two other picture books: The Rainforest Grew All Around and Stone Pizza. She has also written more than fourteen non-fiction chapter books for older readers on topics ranging from entertainment to architecture to animals.  Susan, her husband, and two wonderful daughters live outside of Houston with their dog and two crazy cats. Visit Susan's Website / School Visit Info..