Welcome to my webpage.
Lots of us who were raised by a parent serving in the military proudly called ourselves Brats. We thought that our lives were much more exciting than that of kids who lived in the same place year after year. I had some incredible experiences during my itinerent childhood as an Air Force Brat that influenced the books that I write for children. You can see their picture and find out more about them below.
The left column has some facts about my life. The second picture down explains how I got to sit on the oldest throne in Europe. It was just part of my life as an Air Force Brat when my dad was stationed on Crete.
That ancient throne is mentioned in my next middle grade novel, which will be a time travel between historic and modern Crete. I've got a BA in Anthropology from Arizona State University and a MA in Art History from Stanford University. and my studies in both subjects were really useful in helping me write that book. I hope I'll be announcing it soon.
One of my picture books, The Christmas Box, was based on the hardest part of my childhood in an Air Force family, when my father was stationed in Japan without us. But it has a happy ending for it shows how we still managed to be together for Christmas.
When I was 7 years old, my Aunts Dorothy and Eileen took me to see Peter Pan on Broadway! There were pirates and Indians and a tinkling fairy but best of all, the children could fly! Ever since then, I've known something magical could happen at any moment in a theater.
It's no surprise that my first book, Onstage/Backstage was inspired by my interest in researching and photographing what it took to put on a play, both onstage and backstage. My first middle grade novel, Playing Juliet, was set in a theatre too, and since it was about wanting to act in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I used quotes from that play at the start of each chapter.
When we moved to Phoenix, Arizona, I started to study synchronised swimming at our local pool and ended up earning a Bronze Medal in the AAU state competition. I think all that time spent underwater might have influenced my picture book, Mermaid School.
Below, you'll also find some information on the travel and history articles for adults I've had published, some of the tech writing I've done and my speaking and teaching experience.
I hope you enjoy it.
NEWS
Thanks to the Redwood City Public
Library, you can now watch videos of me
reading from two of my books.
In order to explain 'AUTHORS' to the kids they serve, the library recently made a video of a few local authors reading their books. They asked me to read my picture book, Mermaid School, in one and to talk about Shakespeare and read the first page of my middle grade novel, Playing Juliet, in the other.
If you're reading this on a cell phone, part of the picture may be cut off.
Just click on the arrow to get the whole screen.
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Some of My Picture Books
Alfred A. Knopf
2017
Join Molly and Squirt on their first day at school as they make new friends, learn the ABSeas and shoot up in a waterspout at recess. Their conclusion at the end of the day: Mermaid School is fun!"
Mermaid School was also published in German. The German word for mermaid is Merrjungfrauen. It's from Merr(sea), jung (young) and frauen (girls). Can you guess what schule means?
` 1992
This is the true story of the year my father was stationed in Japan at Christmas. We sent him a big box of the cookies he liked the best and he sent us a big box filled with the wonders of Japan. We've always agreed that our family was together that Christmas even though we were thousands of miles apart.
A Noteworthy Book for Children
Bank Street College of Education
Superior, well above average
The Horn Book
MY BOOKS ABOUT THEATER
2015
Beth Sonquist, twelve, has a secret. She wants to become a good enough actress to play the part of Shakespeare's Juliet. Someday. When she learns the children's theater, where she has been acting for three years, is in danger of closing, she does everything she can think of to save it. But if Beth keeps breaking so many theater superstitions in the process, she may never get onstage again.
"Playing Juliet is cinematic, fast-paced, full of theater magic, misdirection, and Shakespeare. What could be better for any reader who ever wanted to act in a play? I couldn't stop reading."
Jane Yolen, author of over 400 books including How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, Owl Moon and The Devil's Arithmetic.
Sarah Brody, the designer of this book cover, did a great job, using symbols of the theatre to create the illustration. She even put my name in lights, just like it would look on Broadway.
1987
Caryn Huberman Yacowitz and I wrote and photographed this book together. It follows a production of Kipling's Just So Stories, from auditioning to striking the set at the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, the oldent children's theater in the United States, where all of the acting and much of the backstage work is done by kids. It's still the oldest in the U.S., and celebrating it's 90th anniversary in 2022.
We photographed all the backstage photos in black and white and used color for the onstage pictures. Being a part of that production was a wonderful experience. This was both Caryn's and my first book. We still read and critique each other's writing.
"Stage-struck youngsters will welcome this"
The Horn Book
"A lovely book...loaded with pictures...well put together.
If you have children interested in being in theatre, read this."
Jerry Friedman: KGO Radio
the set and the costumes
after the theatre professionals show them how.
show from the control booth.
She ran the whole production backstage from the wings.