JOAN COTTLE decided to become an artist in the fourth grade when one day, after school, her mom bought her one hundred sheets of drawing paper, a box of new crayons, and a Nancy Drew mystery. Joan spent the whole afternoon reading and drawing. That day, she fell in love with words and pictures.
After Joan graduated with a master's degree in fine art from Boston University, she decided to combine her love of reading and drawing as an author and illustrator of children's books. Her books include Emily's Shoes, How Many Ants?, and Miles Away From Home, an American Booksellers Association Kids' Pick of the Lists. She also teaches a class in writing for children at Santa Clara University.
Joan lives with her family in northern California. Her constant studio companion is Phoebe, a yellow Labrador. While Phoebe naps, Joan writes and illustrates poems, easy readers, and picture books. Joan strives to capture the humor, fun, and magic of life in her books. By portraying characters in situations kids can understand, her writing inspires young readers to face challenges with ingenuity and spunk. Miles the dog, the delightfully uncanine-like star of Miles Away From Home, embodies this sentiment. Though he's often perceived by strangers as a mere dog, Miles and his loved ones know there's nothing ordinary about him. Miles's limbo-filled celebration at the end of the book highlights the joyful energy of all of Joan's light-hearted art. In Miles Away From Home and all Joan's books, kids learn that problems may just be opportunities in disguise.
