MemberMarshaDianeArnold

I'm new here. I'm not sure about my Library Thing library yet, but I can tell you about my home library, with everything from children's books to travel books to physics books to the classics.

Boring bio for the press follows, but basically I'm a mother, a wife, a daughter, a gardener, a traveler, a children's writer, and a wanderer. A fairly serious soul, but I smile easily and love to laugh.

The media has called Marsha Diane Arnold a "born storyteller" and a "magician of literary innovations." Her literary pathway began with the much-loved, award-winning newspaper column "homegrown treasures." Soon Marsha was writing for kids' magazines and in 1995 came her first book, Heart of a Tiger, for which she won the Ridgway Award for Best First Book by a New Author.

Other awards include Smithsonian Notable Book for The Pumpkin Runner, Junior Library Guild Selection, IRA Distinguished Book, and state Children's Choice awards for Heart of a Tiger, Kansas State Library's 150 "Best" Books for The Bravest of Us All, Notable Social Studies Book for The Chicken Salad Club, and a Family Choice Award for Hugs on the Wind. Roar of a Snore was twice selected for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and her early reader Quick, Quack, Quick has sold over half a million copies. Her stories have been called "wacky," "whimsical," "inspiring," "beguiling," "heartwarming," "uplifting," "great read-alouds," and "a must-have for all libraries".

Marsha enjoys visiting schools internationally, nationally, and through Skype, sharing her love of books and writing through presentations and writing "funshops". Highlights from some of her visits can be found at her blog, www.storymagician.com. She's often a speaker at writing conferences and young author festivals and has been an instructor and manuscript consultant for Media Bistro and the Institute of Children's Literature. In 2008 Marsha was honored as one of seven artists invited to be part of Sequoia National Parks Foundation's Artists in the Back Country, the only children's author ever invited. The program's goal is to rekindle the American tradition of enhancing public appreciation of our natural world through the arts. She shares her adventures in the high Sierras at www.earthsvoices.com.

When not creating imaginative worlds and wacky characters at her home in northern California, Marsha enjoys traveling the world, scuba diving, and (like her characters) always trying new things. To learn more about Marsha's books or to contact her, visit www.marshadianearnold.com.