Raised one of five children on a farm in rural Idaho, I was encouraged to explore nature, draw and read voraciously throughout my childhood. In my teens I discovered Holling Clancy Holling's books, "Pagoo" and "Minn-of-the-Mississippi, and vowed to someday become a writer and illustrator like that (I did). When I was 21, Rachel Carson became my hero and directly influenced the course of my career. My first book, AMERICA'S HORSES & PONIES was published by Houghton Mifflin when I was 24 (it was five years in the writing and illustrating -- after which I started writing and illustrating natur more...
