Catherine grew up with a fondness for fun and adventure, but reading has always been a major favorite, too. As a little girl, she enjoyed crawling under her father's Lionel train table to explore a...view moreCatherine grew up with a fondness for fun and adventure, but reading has always been a major favorite, too. As a little girl, she enjoyed crawling under her father's Lionel train table to explore a big box of her sisters' old school readers, so Dick and Jane were already her friends when she started school. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Catherine loved stories about inventors, adventurous people, and faraway places. Inspired by her father's fascination for airplanes, she earned a private pilot's license as an adult. Catherine has always been intrigued by the ways that children grow and develop the character traits which they display as adults, and how they confront and learn from problems they encounter along the way. She has taught children from preschool through high school in her long professional career in education, and she enjoys writing for both children and adults.view less