Here I am at two years old. I have my teddy bear and I look like I'm ready to explore the world. Where was I going? Have I gotten there yet?

I'm afraid I can't remember where I was taking my teddy bear all those years ago, but I can remember that I have wanted to be a writer since I was in third grade. It is one of my earliest memories of school. My teacher gave everyone a strip of construction paper and asked us to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up. In my newly acquired cursive, I wrote "writer." All through grade school, middle school, and high school, I wrote poetry and short stories. In college, at the University of Pittsburgh, I got a B.A. in Writing. A few years later, my poems and stories began to appear in magazines. And in 1995, my first book, The Grey Striped Shirt, was published by Alef Design Group.  

Writing for publication takes dedication and perseverance. I spend most of my free time in my office working on ideas and polishing stories. It's not easy, but I love the process.

I get most of my ideas from the students I teach. For five years, I taught Holocaust studies to seventh and eighth graders. My book The Grey Striped Shirt was written from the research and study I did during this time. When I wrote The Grey Striped Shirt, I purposely set out to write a book for children too old for David Adler's The Number on My Grandfather's Arm and too young for Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. When The Grey Striped Shirt was reviewed in School Library Journal (March, 1995), the reviewer mentioned these two books and said I had achieved exactly what I had set out to do. It was quite a thrill!

For many years, I did story times with Jewish preschoolers. This inspired me to write Jewish children's books. Once Upon a Shabbos, Clap and Count, and The Hardest Word began as material to entertain my young students. Noah and the Ziz, The Ziz and Hanukkah Miracle, and The Princess and the Ziz (scheduled for fall 2008) are sequels to The Hardest Word, which features the giant mythological bird called the Ziz.

Abraham's Search for God was also inspired by my work as a Jewish educator. It is the first in a series of bible stories.  The second is Sarah Laughs.

Now, I work as a librarian in a public elementary school in Falls Church, Virginia. My students are always giving me new ideas. The character of Blanca in No English was inspired by a fifth grader who came to the library every day to get new books in Spanish. Every time I spoke to her, she shook her pretty head and smiled shyly, before saying, "No English." I tried to imagine what it must be like to be surrounded by people who spoke words I couldn't understand. I thought of ways I could reach out to her. The character of Diane is really me and how I felt, trying to make friends with someone who spoke a different language.

What else can I tell you about myself? I live in Northern Virginia and I am married to a wonderful man who edits all my stories and does all the technical work for my Web site. I am also the proud mother of two grown sons. My hobbies include walking, reading, and attending the theater. Thanks for clicking on this link and taking the time to find out about me. I would love to hear from you. Please write me at jjules@jacquelinejules.com.