I was born in Queens, New York. When I was a child my parents allowed me
to write on one wall of my bedroom. It was in this space that I
published, in words and pictures, my first stories and launched my
writing self.
However, I have lived most of my adult life, after becoming a Canadian
citizen, in rural Nova Scotia. Here, I have watched foxes steal pears
from beneath the trees in my back yard, listened to red-tailed hawks
argue over a recently caught meal, smelled the arrival of a family of
skunks, and tasted the wild blackberries that grow in the fields and by
the roadside.
I appreciate and respect the beauty of nature in all its forms and all
its moments. I am a strong advocate for equity and social justice and
work to further environmental and peace education in schools. I share
this through my teaching, writing and poetry.
I have authored many professional books and articles for teachers in
addition to an award-winning video series. I have also authored a book
of poetry for children: Pass the Poems Please, WildThings Press
and three picture books: Somewhere (1996), Touch the Earth (1999),
and If Peace Is…(2003), (Mondo Publishing, New York) and a novel
for children (8-12yrs), Together in Time. Several of my poems
have been featured in anthologies and reading series.
I have been President of the Nova Scotia Reading Association and Nova
Scotia’s Provincial Coordinator for the International Reading
Association. I am a member of CELT, The Centre for the Expansion of
Language and Thinking, the Whole Language Umbrella and am the Regional
Counsellor East for IBBY Canada (International Board of Books for Young
People). I have been a Featured Speaker and workshop leader at numerous
educational conferences. I am a former teacher and principal and am
currently on the Education Faculty at Mount Saint Vincent University,
Halifax.
I am a six-time recipient of the Education Quality Award from the Nova
Scotia Teachers’ Union and I received the Distinguished Achievement
Award from the Educational Press Association of America for my series of
articles in Teaching K-8 Magazine.
I live with my husband, Steve, and our pack of Great Danes, in
Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia.