About Me

Things I do:

I'm a picture book author represented by James McGowan at BookEnds Literary. Always eager to get kids excited about reading, I visit schools, book festivals, libraries, and bookstores. My favorite place to be, however, is the woods, where I run, hike, and talk to the animals.

Things I've done:

I was born in Lincoln, Maine, but moved away when I was still a pudgy, diaper-wearing infant. Ultimately, I grew up in a South Jersey housing development, nestled between corn fields, woods, and a lake – the perfect recipe for childhood fun, exploration, and mosquito bites!

I wrote my first stories in that South Jersey home, including a tall tale for my wonderful G & T teacher, Mrs. Hargus. Upon "publication" of our stories, my class was featured in the Vineland Times Journal. And look! I made the front page! I'm the one holding the pencil.

Flute, piano, cheerleading, tennis, golf, and reading were some of the other activities I enjoyed.

Julie Gonzalez graduates from College of New Jersey

If I could go back in time...

After graduating from the green-and-gold Arthur P. Schalick High School in 1990, I attended the College of New Jersey and became a third grade teacher at the Lanes Mill Elementary School in Brick, New Jersey. To this day I think third graders are GREAT! If I could go back in time, I'd be an imaginative, live-in-the-moment, full-of-possibility third grader all over again.

Since then I've taught preschool, kindergarten, and fitness classes at the gym. I now live in New York with my husband and two children, plus one very naughty bunny . . . and I'll read books to anyone who will listen!

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