Now I have the best of both worlds. I get to 'field test' my poems with elementary school kids all over the world, but, most satisfying of all, I get to work in K-6 classrooms in workshop settings, helping young writers find their own voices through the magic of poetry. And no report cards to write!

Why did you choose to write poetry for children?

It chose me. All that early exposure to rhythm and rhyme made it impossible for me to write any other genre. I think in rhythm and rhyme all the time. It's sublime. Although it wears a bit thin with my family sometimes. I am working on several picture books and chapter books, so I'm breaking out. I'm even writing more and more emotionally-focused free verse poetry for kids. It seems to be more hard-edged and honest than the rhythmic stuff.

Where do your ideas for children’s poems come from?

My ideas come in equal parts from my memories of my childhood, and from my experiences as a classroom teacher. As you might expect, I pick up a lot of ideas from the 50 or so visits to schools that I make each year. Over lunch, the kids and I discuss things that bug us, and silly things that happen in our lives as kids. In every respect except age, I am a 3rd-4th grader at heart. That's a challenge for my family!

How many books has your work appeared in?

My work has appeared in about a dozen anthologies in the US and UK. I won a national contest for new poets in 2002, and have a poem in "I Invited a Dragon to Dinner" from Philomel, New York, that celebrates that contest. The other US anthologies are from Meadowbrook Press.

Funnily enough, I'm more published in the UK, where they seem to celebrate children's poetry more than we do in the US. Poetry is also a bit edgier and saltier in the UK. Just this month I published my first solo collection--a collection a humorous, cheeky family poems called, I Froze My Mother and Other Seriously Funny Family Poems. It's published by Trafford Publishing of Canada.

Do you have any suggestions for those who may be considering a career as a children’s author?

This is standard wisdom, but it's so true: I suggest that one read every children's book you can, several times - the good ones and the bad. Then, when it comes to writing, write every day. Listen to kids, listen to your own child-heart, and write. Join a writing group. And don't be depressed by all the early rejection letters. The children's book trade has never been more competitive. But you can persevere and succeed. I'm still in the very early stages myself.