Bio for kids

I was born in the Mojave Desert but later we moved to Seattle, where I grew up.  My Dad was a doctor and an artist.  He put the two together and became a medical illustrator.  His studio in the basement at home had microscopes and a skeleton and jars of weird specimens.  My Mom was a nurse and a poet.  Whenever she read to us out loud, she made the words sing.  I was the oldest, then my sister Kari, then my brother, Skip.

Mom and Dad encouraged us in any creative things we wanted to do.  I liked school, but did most of my own art and writing at home.  I thought that someday when I grew up, I wanted to put my own pictures and words together and make my own books.  It was a secret wish I didn't tell anyone.  Kids at school knew I could draw, but in high school I just tried to be popular and get good grades. It wasn't till college that I got really serious about art.

I went to a university and took all the beginning art classes.  When I had my first real painting class, I loved it so much I decided to major in painting.  And that was it.  I didn't think about writing then, just art.  (But I did like writing papers, and I did take one poetry class.)

For one year I went to art school in Italy.  There is so much great art in Italy from many periods in history, and I felt deeply inspired.  After that fabulous year I came home and finished college, got my degree and just started painting on my own.  I had a few part-time jobs along the way, and I taught drawing and painting at a little art school in Seattle.  I also began showing my art in a gallery.  People bought my paintings.  I didn't make very much money, just enough to keep painting.  But that is what I cared about most.

In my paintings, a vision and a style was growing, one that I could imagine in children's books.  My old secret wish began to stir, and I finally went to a class taught by the famous author, Jane Yolen.  She was wonderful.  I learned a lot about children's books and how to write them.  Later, I even got to illustrate one of her fairytales (Brothers of the Wind).  That was how I got started.  Then I began to write and illustrate my own books.

The first one was Animalia, then Grandfather Twilight, then The Donkey's Dream, then When the Sun Rose, then Gwinna, then The Jewel Heart, then A Lot of Otters, then Angels on a Pin.  Each one offered me something new to learn.  For All the Way to Lhasa: A Tale from Tibet, I blended my art with the colors and style I love from Tibetan art.  Thunder Bunny is my newest book and the first one I have ever done in collage.

For most of my life I never thought of myself as a writer, only an artist.  So it took awhile to realize that hey, I'm an author too.  Now I could not tell you which one I love better, art or writing.  I love them both.  The great thing about children's books is that you can do both.  The children's picture book is a very special art form.  There is nothing else quite like it for adults.

Children's books become a real part of people's lives.  Now I meet tall young people who tell me they grew up with my books.  I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to do this for my “job.” It is both work and play.  I also do other art and other writing for adults.  But creating books for children has given me more happiness than I can say.  I wish the same for everyone — to grow up and be able to do what you love.