ENGLAND
    I've lived most of my life in Chicago. But for four years, our family was blessed to live in England. Windsor Castle was close to our home, and horses often clip-clopped down our lane. We made wonderful friends, ate lots of good pub food, and took long walks in Windsor Great Park. On weekends, we explored London. And sometimes we traveled to other countries, too.
​     Those years were magical ones, with a royal wedding (Will and Kate), the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and the Olympics all happening during our time there. Lucky us!
​     My book, ALL ABOARD THE LONDON BUS, grew from my experiences in London. 

We lived in Englefield Green, Surrey, England.

Never Never Land hosted an annual American Girl Tea Party.

NEVER NEVER LAND 
​    Before I became an author, I owned a children's bookstore named Never Never Land. A few years later, I bought the town's toy store, too, and joined the stores together. But, just like the movie You've Got Mail, two giant bookstores (and two toy stores) moved into a mall development down the road. After seven wonderful years, we closed our doors.
​     But don't be sad! We shared books with thousands of readers over the years, and two marriages came out of the store, including my own!

     My husband is a clever guy. He's designed greeting cards and Happy Meal Toys. He made Thomas the Tank Engine trains, Lamaze baby toys, and more. He also co-created the TV show, Chuggington.

The cast of Chuggington with creators Don Toht and Sara Ball.

     Our family has four children - two boys and two girls. Below are pictures of them in grade school. Now, they are all grown up. Three are married, and we have one grandbaby.

     One day, my daughter came home from college with a puppy named Sanji (sahn-jee). When she married, she moved away and left the dog with me and my husband. 
     Sanji HATES when I work on my computer -- he climbs up next to me and sticks his paws in front of the screen.

Age 1

Fourth Grade

• My family and most of my friends call me "Patty."
• I'm a middle child (not EXACT middle - I'm third of seven kids).
• My fingers are double-jointed, and I can curl my tongue
• The first book I read all by myself was SNOW, by P.D. Eastman.
• I swam my first mile when I was ten-years-old.
• Because I had really short hair, people always thought I was a boy.
• Sometimes I sewed my own clothes. They weren't very pretty.