Lynn Plourde posing for a picture as a three-year-old

I'm Lynn Plourde, children's book author. I was born in Dexter, Maine, on October 1, 1955. I grew up in Skowhegan, Maine, and lived with my parents (Leon & Charlene Plourde), one sister (Cathy), and two brothers (Michael & Stephen). Ever since I can remember, I have LOVED words. Growing up, I always had my nose stuck in a book—my parents had to shoo me outside to get fresh air. During family get-togethers, I would sit quietly and listen with fascination as the grown-ups shared jokes and stories. I also enjoyed writing—even those 50+ page term papers in high school.

I'm 100% Franco-American and proud of it. The four sides of my family are Plourde, Jacques, Ambrose (D'Amboise), and Clukey. I used to "sit with" my Great-grandmother Jacques when she was too old to stay alone. She didn't speak any English except for a few phrases like "open the light" and "close the light."

I loved school and was frequently accused of being a teacher's pet (there are worse names to be called!). I took baton lessons as a kid and was a majorette in both high school and college. I also was involved in speech and drama.

I graduated from Skowhegan Area High School in 1973 and then went to the University of Maine at Orono for five years and received bachelor and masters degrees in speech therapy. I worked for 21 years as a speech therapist in Maine public's schools, and it was a great career for me. Speech therapy actually gave me my start as a published author. I believe that in today's visual world, all children need extra help learning to be good listeners and speakers. And so I developed a series of instructional books, CLASSROOM LISTENING AND SPEAKING (for preschoolers up through 5th-6th graders), which are filled with hundreds of fun learning activities for classroom teachers to use with their entire classes.

Lynn & Paul with Seth and Lucas on their wedding day in 1984

In 1984, I married my husband Paul Knowles and gained a ready-made family with three- and four-year-old stepsons, Seth and Lucas. Suddenly, I had two boys to read to every night at bedtime. And so I would go to the library and checkout a big bag of picture books. I soon discovered that I loved the books more than the boys did (I'd keep reading them after the boys fell asleep). I started to think maybe, just maybe, I could write picture books.

And I tried—for 13 years, I tried—collecting hundreds and hundreds of rejection letters. Then finally in 1997, I had my first picture book published, Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud. And it was definitely worth waiting for all those years. I couldn't have asked for a better first book. It was illustrated by a Caldecott-medalist, John Schoenherr. Pigs in the Mud was praised for being a terrific read-aloud, but also a great early reader (several mothers have told me it's the first book their kids learned to read by themselves). Also the grandmother in the story was the hero of the book—grandmas should be heroes more often! Plus I did my very first booksigning for my very first picture book, Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud, in my hometown bookstore (Skowhegan Mr. Paperback) on March 1st—National Pig Day! How serendipitous!

Now I work full-time as an author which means juggling lots of parts of my job—doing author visits to schools, writing new stories, editing and revising old stories, doing booksignings and readings, teaching courses and workshops on how to write for children. For me, being a children's book author is the best job in the world.

Family photo on Christmas 2001--Seth, Paul, Kylee, Lucas, & Lynn

Those young stepsons I mentioned are now grown, finishing college and beginning their own careers. Plus my husband and I have a daughter, Kylee, who is a teenager and was the inspiration for my book Wild Child. Our family moved to Winthrop, Maine, in 1995. The newest member of our family is our dog, Maggie, an Irish Setter mix who acts like a puppy even though she's grown-up (maybe "Wild Dog" should be my next book)!

Maggie, the family dog, looking sweet and innocent--but looks can be deceiving!

For hobbies, I read, read, read—especially Maine children's books (a hobby that turned into a guidebook, A Celebration of Maine Children's Books which I co-authored with my husband). I also play a little golf, putter with plants, and collect wind chimes, baskets, and teddy bears. And most days, I give myself a pinch just to make certain that I'm not dreaming—as I live my "dream" of being a children's book author.

For further biographical information about Lynn Plourde:
See Something About the Author-Volume 122-available in the reference section of most libraries