HEATHER VOGEL FREDERICK

According to the bio on her website: "I was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire into a family of bookworms, and spent most of my childhood holed up in the library or in my bedroom, reading. My mother used to say that if Heather had her nose in a book, the house would have to burn down around her before she’d sit up and take notice! Those are the best books, though, aren’t they? The ones that take your imagination by storm and spirit you off into a different world?

My father was an elementary schoolteacher and principal, and every night before bed he’d read to me and my two younger sisters. He’s a talented actor (he performs in plays on Cape Cod all the time) and always came up with great voices for the characters. I think his finest role was as Aunt Sponge in Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, performed in our living room.

I spent a year at the University of Cologne, Germany, as a Fulbright scholar, and when I returned home I married my college sweetheart and became a journalist. I loved working in the busy newsroom at The Christian Science Monitor, where I wrote and edited feature stories and eventually became the Children’s Book Review Editor. After our two sons were born, I launched a freelance career and wrote for a number of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Family Life, Child, and Publishers Weekly, where I was a contributing editor for many years."