Once upon a time, I was a pastry chef, and before that I worked in an office, crunching numbers. Writing and illustrating children’s books are by far the best jobs I’ve ever had (well, that is, after being a mom). I fell in love with picture books from reading so many to my children. Then I took some classes at MassArt and tried my hand at making one myself. I got my first job illustrating a poem for Click magazine in 2001. Two years later my first picture book was published. Since then I’ve made a lot more.
In addition to making books, I work at Apple (now that my girls are almost all grown-up). I’m a Creative Pro in art and design. I get to draw every day and teach others how to make digital art. Plus I work with a bunch of diverse, talented people.
I live with my husband, youngest daughter, and two bulldogs in a small town just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. My kids used to give me lots of ideas for stories and the pictures that go with them, but now I rely on my dogs and the unexpected surprises of daily life to inspire me. Since I started making books, one thing has remained the same. Every morning, before I start working, I eat one giant malted milk ball (I tell myself it makes me more creative).
