I grew up in a big fieldstone house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and can't remember a time when I wasn't writing stories and illustrating them. In fourth grade I sold my hand-drawn bears with clothes to classmates for 15 cents apiece. In sixth grade I completed my first mini-novel about kids, who climb up into the attic to discover a magical jungle world. My mom worked as a law editor. She taught me how to edit and punctuate. My dad, a college professor and educational consultant, expanded my literary world by reading me everything from E.B. White's Charlotte's Web to Edgar Allen Poe's, The Pit and the Pendulum. I found out last year that I had a great uncle, who wrote stories for children's textbooks. He used the Philadelphia public library as his office. In the garden at age five I earned a BFA from the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts, where I majored in painting. My paintings often include animals like hedgehogs surrounded by an assortment of found objects. In 2003 I earned an MFA in creative writing with a double focus in writing for children and fiction from the New School in New York City. I often think of writing as painting with words. I have also designed children's fabrics, exhibited my paintings and ghostwritten series books. My most unusual job was making solar-heated swimming pool covers. Traveling and listening to World Music are my favorite hobbies.