About BarbaraGrowing up in a family with three older brothers, I enjoyed playing with my dolls, building leaf forts along the creek and reading good books. The Borrowers by Mary Norton, The Happy Hollisters series by Jerry West and all of Louisa May Alcott books were my favorites. I attended Saint Mary's School and was valedictorian of my Berea (Ohio) High School class in 1972.
Can you guess how old I am?
At the University of Notre Dame, biology was my major and favorite classes were ecology, plant identification and entomology, the study of insects. As a naturalist with the Cleveland Metroparks System, I began sharing my love of nature with children by leading discovery hikes, owl prowls (I can hoot like a barred owl!) and even wildflower walks dressed as Mother Nature.
As a ten year old, I wrote, "When I grow up, I want to have a family, teach 4th grade and travel the world." My husband Ed, daughters Meghan and Kaitlin and son-in-law Michael are my family. During school visits, I teach all grades from kindergarten to junior high. My travel adventures include climbing a canopy walkway to the top of the Amazon rainforest, sleeping on tatami mats in a Japanese inn and hiking in the Swiss Alps. Recently, I took a boat ride in Peru on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, and walked on floating reed islands just like in the book, Wonders of the World, that I had read so often as a child. Dreams do come true!
School Children on Taquile Island in Lake Titicaca enjoy their new books.
I have always been fascinated with puppets and last summer was lucky enough to travel to Prague to learn about the traditional marionettes of the Czech people. I toured a workshop where artists construct the puppets and viewed an opera performed by three-foot tall marionettes. Look for a magazine article or maybe a book on marionettes in the near future.
New projects include L is for Leprechaun: A Notre Dame Alphabet book and other alphabet books about science, geography and Peru. I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Arizona Library Association and president of the Greater Paradise Valley Reading Council. When I'm not writing, I enjoy photography, crocheting, and reading the Newbery Medal children's books.