I was born in Reidsville, N.C., where I grew up on a farm with my four siblings. We all learned how to plant corn, chase chickens, herd cows, and drive tractors at an early age. Art was my favorite subject in high school. I attended the School of Design at North Carolina State University and The Cooper Union in New York City, graduating from both in 1980.
I worked in the art departments of Simon and Schuster and McCall’s Magazine before founding a graphic design firm in NYC with my husband, Steve Jenkins.
In 1986, our daughter Page was born. Her brother Alec arrived two years later, and I spent many happy hours reading to them. Jamie, our youngest son, was born in 1998. Our children’s questions over the years have inspired many of our books.
In 1994, Steve and I moved our design office to Boulder, CO, where we continued to write and illustrate children’s books and work on graphic design projects for corporate and institutional clients. Since Steve’s death in December 2021, I have worked on finishing the books we started while working on new projects.”