Growing up, I spent many hours playing in the woods with my sisters, brother, and dog Puppy. We had our own town, Green Meadows, where I published a newspaper written on leaves with "ink" from squished berries and charged 25 cents in hickory nut money.My family was not surprised when I decided to become a writer. After college, I wrote for newspapers and magazines. When I started reading to my kids, I remembered how much I loved picture books and started writing my own. I wished on pennies in a wishing well, and ten years later, my first picture book, The Lion's Whiskers, came out. Now, my eighth picture book, Way Down Below Deep, is being published. My husband and I live on an island, where I think up ideas while walking the beach and swimming in the ocean. One of my missions is to help today's kids connect with nature.