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 book stores. (Well...usually. I'm currently on pause due to the pandemic, of course. Stay safe!) 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 – a real recipe for childhood fun, exploration, and mosquito bites. But every itchy lump was worth the chance to catch lightning bugs or take long bike rides with friends.

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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