Anne’s Reading and Writing Journey

Anne grew up loving books.

She couldn’t wait to start first grade at Montclair Elementary in Oakland, California, because she knew it was there that she would learn how to read. Imagine how surprised and disappointed she was on her first day of school when she discovered it would take more than one day.

In fifth grade, her teacher, Mrs. Crowe, who was also the school librarian, read novels aloud to the class everyday. And she encouraged her class to read as many books as they could. That’s where Anne met The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell, and My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.

Right before sixth grade, Anne and her parents moved back to Hawaii and the Kailua Public Library was where she found great books. Not too far away, was Mrs. Beamer’s hula studio, where Anne and her friends took hula lessons for the next seven years.

In seventh grade English class Anne wrote a story and shared it with others for the first time. It was a mystery. The butler did it.

Most of Anne’s writing during high school was school-related, but she did pen a lot of poems in her spare time. At college, first at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and then at the University of Texas at Austin, Anne studied to become a teacher. Children’s Literature was her favorite course. After graduating she taught fourth grade and then reading instruction to second through fifth graders. She read aloud to her students every day.

Then Anne went back to school to earn a library degree and began working at Toad Hall Children’s Bookstore. As soon as she graduated, she became a co-owner of the store. Besides recommending great books to customers, her favorite job was reading new ones.

Anne had always wanted to write a book for children. It was at the bookstore that she got the idea for T is for Texas. After many revisions, and many rejections, her alphabet book was published.

While managing the bookstore, Anne went back to school. Again. This time she worked on a PhD in language and literacy studies. When she graduated, she sold her interest in the bookstore and began teaching pre-service teachers. And writing more for children. Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus was the result.

Then came her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.  Her creative thesis became her debut middle grade novel, Anywhere but Paradise.

Her second middle grade novel, Blue Skies (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and RAD! (Abrams Books for Young Readers) a picture book illustrated by Daniel Wiseman followed.

 Reading and writing are a big part of Anne’s life. She loves children’s books most of all.

She is happily crafting more stories.  Her next book, FAR OUT! will be published in Spring 2023 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.