Rosemary Wells

Born in New York City, Rosemary Wells grew up in a house "filled with books, dogs, and nineteenth-century music." "When I was two years old I began to draw and they saw right away the career that lay ahead of me and encouraged me every day of my life. As far back as I can remember, I did nothing but draw."

Rosemary Wells's career as an author and illustrator spans more than 30 years and 60 books, ranging from board books to young adult literature. She has won numerous awards, and has given young adult readers vivid historical fiction like Red Moon at Sharpsburg and Mary on Horseback: Three Mountain Stories, as well as great mysteries like The Man in the Woods and When No One Was Looking.

Her writing career has been a "pure delight," she says. "I regret only that I cannot live other lives parallel to my own. Writing is a lonely profession and I am a gregarious sort of person. I would like someday to work for the FBI. A part of me was never satisfied with years of tennis. I still yearned to play basketball."