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“Aunt  Jane,  why do your chickens lay more eggs in the spring and summer? And why does Olive lay different colored eggs than Edelweiss?”

Good questions, Brigid!

Looking at the world through the eyes of curious kids inspires me to write nonfiction science books

that give young readers an “aha moment!” I imagine them saying, “Oh, NOW I get it.  That’s cool!”

I worked as a senior science editor of nonfiction young adult books for ten years before becoming an author. I have to say that I never fully appreciated how much work goes into simplifying complex scientific ideas until I started doing it myself! I now strive to be an author who entertains and teaches, and sparks some new questions, too.

Since I have degrees in Biology and Environmental Science, it is not surprising that my favorite thing to write about is the natural world. And many of our hobbies, such as growing lots of food in our garden and raising egg-laying chickens, get me thinking about topics that could make engaging books.

One of the best parts of writing science books is finding out new things every day to share with readers. While researching my upcoming book for Rourke, STEM Jobs in Food and Nutrition, I learned that smartphone technology will soon allow shoppers to scan produce to find out about the farm that grew it, that farmers are using satellite images taken all the way from space to check the health of their crops, and that robots have been invented to pick ripe lettuce and strawberries. Now that’s cool!