About the author~
Jennifer was born in Illinois and moved to Minnesota when she was two. An early reader, she was bribed into good behavior in kindergarten with the promise of visiting the school library to check out books like B is for Betsy and The Boxcar Children.
When she was seven, Jennifer’s family moved back to Illinois. She got to skip an hour of school each week to attend the “Reading, Writing, and Radio” class, which encouraged children’s writing skills (but, sadly, did not make them famous). In sixth grade, she entered her city’s Young Author’s contest, but she did not win. Perhaps the dual role of author-illustrator was too demanding for her. In high school, Jennifer wrote many terrible poems about FEELINGS, and a handful she’s still quite proud of.
Jennifer moved (again!) to Indiana and graduated from Indiana University’s School of Education. It’s probably just a coincidence that teachers have to (get to?) read picture books and children’s novels as part of their work, right? Out in California and back in Minnesota, Jennifer taught school, raised babies, and read books.
After living in Florida, she came back to Minnesota on purpose, and she’s stayed put through several polar vortexes, so she must not be moving any time soon. A few years ago, Jennifer realized she really wanted to write a book. Or books. For children. Or young adults. But she needed guidance and a community to follow this dream, so she earned her Masters in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults through Hamline University’s MFAC program.
One of Jennifer’s core beliefs is that people are Creators and Storytellers, and that every contribution is valuable. A reformed grammar snob and former leveled-reading devotee, Jennifer now looks to the content rather than the mechanics, and supports children reading what they love, without the restrictions of “their reading level.” “She shares her home with Tot, an orange boy who used to look like a tater tot, and his brother-from-another-mother Tux, who (surprise!) is a tuxedo cat.”
short bio~
Jennifer Wilson grew up in central Illinois and, like Bliss, she’s walked beans and detasseled corn in the damp summer heat. She holds an MFA in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University, and a BS in Education from Indiana University. She is currently braving the icy winters and soaking up the perfect summers in Minnesota, where she is an early childhood educator. When she’s not writing or teaching, she is crafting and trying to keep her one plant alive.
About the author~
Jennifer was born in Illinois and moved to Minnesota when she was two. An early reader, she was bribed into good behavior in kindergarten with the promise of visiting the school library to check out books like B is for Betsy and The Boxcar Children.
When she was seven, Jennifer’s family moved back to Illinois. She got to skip an hour of school each week to attend the “Reading, Writing, and Radio” class, which encouraged children’s writing skills (but, sadly, did not make them famous). In sixth grade, she entered her city’s Young Author’s contest, but she did not win. Perhaps the dual role of author-illustrator was too demanding for her. In high school, Jennifer wrote many terrible poems about FEELINGS, and a handful she’s still quite proud of.
Jennifer moved (again!) to Indiana and graduated from Indiana University’s School of Education. It’s probably just a coincidence that teachers have to (get to?) read picture books and children’s novels as part of their work, right? Out in California and back in Minnesota, Jennifer taught school, raised babies, and read books.
After living in Florida, she came back to Minnesota on purpose, and she’s stayed put through several polar vortexes, so she must not be moving any time soon. A few years ago, Jennifer realized she really wanted to write a book. Or books. For children. Or young adults. But she needed guidance and a community to follow this dream, so she earned her Masters in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults through Hamline University’s MFAC program.
One of Jennifer’s core beliefs is that people are Creators and Storytellers, and that every contribution is valuable. A reformed grammar snob and former leveled-reading devotee, Jennifer now looks to the content rather than the mechanics, and supports children reading what they love, without the restrictions of “their reading level.” “She shares her home with Tot, an orange boy who used to look like a tater tot, and his brother-from-another-mother Tux, who (surprise!) is a tuxedo cat.”
short bio~
Jennifer Wilson grew up in central Illinois and, like Bliss, she’s walked beans and detasseled corn in the damp summer heat. She holds an MFA in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University, and a BS in Education from Indiana University. She is currently braving the icy winters and soaking up the perfect summers in Minnesota, where she is an early childhood educator. When she’s not writing or teaching, she is crafting and trying to keep her one plant alive.
get social~
