I started writing stories when my kids were very small. First I wrote short stories for magazines. My stories were all rejected. Everything I wrote for two whole years was rejected but I didn't give up. One day I saw an ad for a writing contest in Highlights for Children Magazine. I wrote a story and WON THE CONTEST!!!! About a year later I sold my first book, The Old, Old Man and the Very Little Boy. I've been writing ever since.

I have lived in Colorado, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Washingon, and now Minnesota, I love to meet new people and learn about new things. I am sure that as long as I can wonder, ponder, laugh and learn, I will always find something great to write about.

Dove Song
Candlewick Press, 2006
ISBN 978-0-7636-3219-9

Bobbie Lynn's mother has always been kind of delicate and moody, dependent on Daddy for everything. Now Daddy has been sent away to the war in Vietnam, and Bobbie Lynn is worried. So is her older brother, Mason. How is Mama going to take care of them without Daddy's help for a whole year? And what if Daddy never comes home at all?

Awards
Minnesota Book Award

Lone Wolf
Candlewick Press, 2006
ISBN 978-0-7636-2996-0

Three years ago, Perry Dubois and his dad left their lives behind and moved to the north woods. They don't see other people much up there. Perry's dad likes it that way, and Perry is getting used to it, too. So when Willow Pestalozzi and her large family move in nearby, Perry's not all that happy about it. But Perry can't help being drawn into the lively warmth of the Pestalozzis—even if they remind him of everything he wants to forget.

Awards
Junior Library Guild selection; School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; Bank Street College Best Book of the Year; Rebecca Caudill Award; William Allen White Award, Nutmeg Award

Grape Thief
Candlewick Press, 2004
ISBN 978-0-7636-1325-9

It’s 1925 in multiethnic Roslyn, Washington, and twelve-year-old Slava has earned the nickname "Cuss" because he can swear in fourteen languages. In fact, Cuss loves languages. Unlike his older brothers, who left school after sixth grade to work in the coal mines, he likes reading as much as he likes goofing around—or planning the great grape heist of Roslyn. But when bootleggers stir up trouble and force his big brothers to skip town, Cuss feels the weight of family responsibility. How can he hold on to his dream to stay in school—and still do the honorable thing by his ma and little brother?

Awards
Jefferson Cup Award for Best Historical Fiction 2004

The Gift
Chronicle, 1999
ISBN 978-0-8118-0447-9

Jimmy Joe can hardly believe it. Fish Woman has invited him to go fishing. And not just regular fishing, but salmon fishing. Some say that Fish Woman might be a witch, but salmon fishing...well, that's an invitation you just can't turn down. So he puts on his hat, his sweater and his yellow slicker, and Jimmy Joe and Fish Woman head out to sea for an adventure more magical than he ever could have imagined. Vibrant watercolors in glowing hues of blue, green, and red bring alive the beauty of the sea, the magnificence of the mighty whales that live within it, and the warmth of the characters, making this a special story about friendship and the true meaning of giving.

Nerd No More
Candlewick Press, 1996
ISBN 978-1-56402-674-3

Wiggie Carter gets himself into real trouble because he tries desperately to be a cool kid instead of a nerd with a mom who hosts a TV science show. This fast and funny book takes the reader from Wiggie's attempts at popularity (glitter boogers, for one) to his mishaps to finally finding friends. Truly a "nerd no more."