Kersten Hamilton
On
the morning of Kersten Hamilton's sixth birthday, she decided to become
a writer. She had been considering this since the day she was born in
a trailer park in High Rolls, New Mexico, in 1958...or perhaps 1959.
Her parents, who were not very practical people, neglected to go to the
hospital or inform anyone of her arrival, and some confusion still exists
as to the exact year and date.
While growing up, she tracked caribou and arctic wolves in Alaska, caught tiny tree frogs in the swamps and rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and chased dust devils and rattlesnakes across the high desert of New Mexico.
Her childhood can only be described as 'exciting.'
Fortunately, she was not electrocuted or drowned, most of the bullets missed, and the incidents with bears, snakes, wolves, and angry moose were not fatal. As a child, her list of favorite things included: brothers and sisters, dogs, cats, snakes, goats, horses, hobo friends, wild adventures, library cards, and a pappa who was a storyteller. As a teenager and young adult, Kersten worked as a ranch hand, a wood cutter, a lumberjack, a census taker, a wrangler for wilderness guides, and an archeological surveyor.
Kersten is the author of 24 books, including Rockabye
Rabbit, Cool Kids
Press, 1995;
The Butterfly Book: A Kids Guide to Attracting,
Raising, and Keeping Butterflies, John Muir Publications 1997;
adaptations of the Millie Keith novels for Mission City Press, 2001-2003;
This is the Ocean, Boyds Mills Press, 2001;
and Fire Fighters to the Rescue, Viking, which will arrive in 2004.
She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her three growing-growing-grown children and her very handsome husband Mark.
Back to the Capital Book Festival