Although a zoology minor in college, Kathy's prime focus throughout her professional life has been literacy. She attended the University of Massachusetts, Harvard University, and SUNY Albany, earning degrees in education and reading. Her educational experiences range from classroom teacher, reading specialist, university professor, school administrator, and educational consultant. As an educator, she has provided numerous presentations on all aspects of literacy and science education, locally, nationally, and internationally. She organized and guided several trips for teachers to New Zealand to get an "up-close and personal" look at this country's exemplary literacy programs. She has also co-authored a number of professional books to assist teachers in making reading and writing come "alive" in the classroom. Among her books are: Books Don't Have to Be Flat; Quick Quilts Across the Curriculum; 25 Super Social Studies Projects; and Making Non-fiction and Other Informational Texts Come Alive, among others. While living abroad recently in Berlin, Germany, she helped set up a family library at the U.S. Embassy, an accomplishment of which she is very proud. One of her guiding principles has been the oft-cited quote by Dr. Seuss, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Now the place she is going to is "your backyard." She and The Backyard Scientist have been friends and colleagues for years and have enjoyed collaborating on this book to make science come alive for families and teachers.
