Jeanne Birdsall

Jeanne Birdsall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951. Before becoming a children's author, she worked as a photographer. Some of her photographs are included in the permanent collections of museums, including the Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Art Museum. She didn't start writing until she was forty-one years old. Her first book, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, was published in 2005. Her novels about the Penderwick family have collected several honors, including the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She also writes picture books for younger children.