Reader

I became a reader in 2nd grade, and I never looked back.  I was too busy!  My nose was stuck in a book where I could travel anywhere, be anything, do anything.  It was incredible!  And it still is!

Teacher

Never say never!  I became what I promised never, ever to become…a teacher. I taught for 33 years, five in Title 1 reading, the rest in second grade.  I taught everything… language arts, math, social studies, and science.  I loved it all! The absolute best thing about teaching was seeing my students become readers.

Storyteller

When I started teaching, I was also becoming a wife and mother.  As my three kids grew, we read stories together, my favorites and theirs.  Along the way I learned to tell stories to all my kids, the ones at home, and at my school. They usually were about each other.

German friends & family

Thanks to Wapak Sister Cities, I’ve hosted six German students.  They became my American kids for a month, and I taught them to be American.  In return I stayed with five German families, and they taught me to be German.  I loved it!  Would you believe I even have a “Sister Teacher?”  I taught her kids to play Heads Up, 7 Up, and I can’t speak a word of German!  They tried to help me read German. They were great teachers!  Our classes became pen pals.  And best of all thanks to my pictures, books, and stories, my students traveled to Germany, without ever hopping on a plane!

Writer

Would you believe I became a writer because of my first trip to Germany?  I met a bat, and I thought, what a great story!  I had to put it on paper.  Now I’m a retired teacher.  I can’t stay home and just write, so I sub too. I still dream of writing a book that becomes your favorite, the one you can’t put down, the one you read over and over again. I also dream of visiting your school/library and telling you how I’m making my dreams come true, and how you can make yours come true too!

Animal friends

Since becoming a writer, I find animal friends everywhere.  My BFF will always be Leia, star of her own book, “The Tattle-Tale Dog.”  At the lake house new animal friends pop out of the woodwork and audition for books.   A squirrel and a bird started it.  They spent a July day stretched-out, sun-bathing on the deck railing.  Racerback lizards slither in and out of hiding to soak up the sun.  Deer hike through the yard, and ducks nap on the dock.  Martins nest in its roof. They dive-bomb the water but never ever crash.  Blue dragonflies hover over the water like miniature lake helicopters.  I wonder who’ll turn up next!

Two cat friends who decided to dance for me. I was staying at their house in Germany when I met the bat.

Writing at the lake house

Kissing a dolphin in Cozumel, Mexico

Squirrel on the deck