Welcome!
 
I am a teacher and author from Winnipeg, Canada. I am currently teaching grade 7 & 8, but have also been a Teacher-Librarian and Kindergarten teacher, which is where I got my inspiration for my first picture book, 'Teaching Mrs. Muddle'.

I'm super proud of the accolades and awards that my books have received, but listing them here feels very braggy! I'll just say that The Undercover Book List won the Silver Birch Award in 2023 and my other books have been nominated for many awards across the US and Canada. Harvey Comes Home won the SYRCA Willow (Saskatchewan) and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year for Young People. It was also a Bank Street Best Book for Kids. The follow-up book, Harvey Holds His Own, was a finalist for the Governor General's Award (which was one of my #lifegoals!). Sadia won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and was nominated for a Forest of Reading Red Maple Award. 

As an avid MG and YA reader, I am involved in a number of literacy initiatives, such as the Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award, MG Lit Online Book Club and the Canadian Childrens Book Center. Over the years, I have lived in New York and Japan. The pull of the prairies (and my family) brought me back to Winnipeg, but it's my dream to have a home by the ocean one day.

I have two teen-age boys and three step-children. After years of negotiations, we added a dog to our family, a West Highland Terrier named Rosie. When not writing or teaching, I like to run, read, travel and cheer my boys on at sporting events. A few other things I like: chocolate, beating my husband at Scrabble, tulips and watching Rosie chase squirrels.

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