I write books for kids about things that really interest me. I need to fall in love with my subject, because I'll be spending many hours working on the book. My books usually involve travel - mummies in Peru, Forbidden City in China, Palestinian and Jewish kids in Israel, amazing Edi in a Kosovo refugee camp, alligators in the Everglades, Hanna the hippo in the Budapest Zoo, and the rough cow pasture in Ohio where the Wright Brothers secretly flew their new invention - the flying machine. I have a MA in journalism, and my books are often based on oral histories, interviews, and lots of observation. They have won their share of awards along the way, but I am most honored by the letters and comments I get from the kids who have read them.