Hey Kids!

I was born a month too early, so tiny that my head fit into a tea cup. But I grew fast and so did my imagination! From the very beginning, I loved creating things. I loved reading and writing stories. I liked science, too, and one of my favorite books was called The Forgotten Door, about a boy on another planet who accidentally fell through a door onto Earth. My least favorite subject was math, because I was not very good at it. But I knew it was useful, so I put up with it.

I was not always nice to other people, either. Once I challenged a boy to a fight in the vacant lot across from the school, but he never showed up. Another time, I teased a girl who got so mad, she pulled out a big chunk of my hair! It hurt like crazy. But I deserved it. Then our teacher read us a book called The Hundred Dresses about a girl who was teased and bullied. That book made me feel bad about the way I acted toward the hair-pulling girl. After that, the thing I got in trouble for most was talking too much. The most embarrassing thing that happened to me at school, though, was when my dress got caught at the top of the slipper slide and the whole bottom half ripped off on the way down!

One of my best memories at school was when my cat was walking back and forth on the ledge outside my classroom and the teacher let him in for a visit. My favorite time at school was when the teacher gave us book orders. I spent all my allowance buying books and I read all the time. I found the kids in the books I read had problems just like me and that made me feel better.

The worst thing that ever happened to me was when my mom died. I was sad for a long, long time. But one day I decided I was going to ACT happy by smiling even if I didn’t feel like. It turned out to be a good plan because it made me feel better when people smiled back. After a while, I was able to laugh and have fun again.

Today, as I write, I try to remember those times both good and bad. I try to recall how it felt to be a kid. I write about things that made me sad and experiences that made me laugh. My goal is to write books that will help kids feel better, like the books that helped me.