Kristin L. Gray writes picture books and novels for children including: The Amelia Six: an Amelia Earhart Mystery, an Amazon editors’ pick, William Allen White Award nominee, and Junior Library Guild selection; and the forthcoming polar whodunit Murder at Penguin Ranch. A student pilot, Kristin adores science, aviation, and ghosts. She is rarely seen without her most favorite book, her passport.
Why I write:
I haven’t always been a writer, but as far back as I can remember, I loved stories. I remember my excitement when my teachers read to us at the end of the school day. My friends and I would sit at our desks, turn our backpacks into pillows for our chins, and listen. Listen to how Wilbur met Charlotte, to how James traveled inside a giant peach, and to how Ramona exasperated Beezus. And whenever the bell rang, we’d let out a collective groan, sad for the day’s story to end.
Thankfully, my parents made sure I had access to great books. I remember slipping my ruler in between the spines at our library while I hunted for the right books for that week. I circled books in the Scholastic Book Fair fliers that came home and borrowed books from my brother and close friends. Reading could take me anywhere and let me be whoever I wanted to be. Every story was an adventure, a safe place, a chance to make a new discovery or friend . . . I guess I never outgrew that thrill as I’m still finding new friends today.
Some of my favorite books are: When You Reach Me, The Westing Game, One Crazy Summer, A Wrinkle in Time, and A Sick Day for Amos McGee.
Drafts!
George
AE Hangar Museum
