Jean Taft is a New England writer who studied German, became a nurse and always wanted to write children’s books. Her picture book, Worm Weather (Grossett & Dunlap 2015), was also published by Scholastic (2017, 2023) and was an NAIBA Pick of the List for Picture Books. She has poetry in the children’s anthologies Friends & Anemones (2020) and Gnomes & Ungnomes (November 2023) published by the Writer’s Loft. A reformed arachnophobe, she has spent the last several years learning about spider biology (yes, there are stories!). Crafting stories with rhythm and rhyme and a focus on clarity, Jean writes from the intersection of language, literature and science. When not writing (or reading or baking or enjoying the weather), her favorite place to be is paddling in a canoe with her husband and thinking of more stories inspired by nature.