Author Bio
Children's book author Robie H. Harris has written award-winning picture books for young children and nonfiction books for children and teens. What fascinates Harris about young children is their powerful emotions, and their sense of doing things their way, which might not be our way, but makes complete sense to a young child.
Her picture book series, JUST BEING ME books, includes I'M SO MAD!, I'M NOT SLEEPY!, I LOVE MESSES!, and I'M ALL DRESSED!, and are illustrated by nationally syndicated cartoonist Nicole Hollander. "After I wrote these books," says Harris, "I realized that the characters — young children — were just being themselves. And that’s why we came up with the series title JUST BEING ME."
I'M SO MAD! is the story of a young child who has a temper tantrum at the supermarket when her Mommy says they cannot buy a box of ice cream sandwiches. I'M NOT SLEEPY! is the story of a young child whose parents are very sleepy. But the child in the story is not sleepy at all. I LOVE MESSES! is the story of a young child who makes a giant mixed-up mushy mess of eggs and yogurt — and dances in it! But then her Daddy discovers what she has done! I'M ALL DRESSED! is the story of a young child, who dresses himself HIS WAY, and who loves the way he looks. But then his Mommy and Daddy discover what he has done!
MAIL HARRY TO THE MOON!, Harris’ newest picture book, is being illustrated by Michael Emberley and will be published in late 2007. This story, told by a young boy, talks about what life was like before the birth of his new brother, Harry. When Harry takes a bite of his banana, his older brother says, "Throw Harry in the trash!" When Harry screams in the middle of the night, his older brother screams back, "Mail Harry to the Moon!" The next morning, when Harry's brother wakes up, he cannot find Harry — necessitating a trip to the moon.
When Harris is not writing, she loves to spend time with family and friends, and especially with her young grandchildren. And she also loves to bike and hike in the mountains, and go to as many movies as possible.
New Feature Box - Main site, Author Questions Robie Harris
Robie Harris can speak to:
- Why do young children react with such intense emotion to a new sibling in the house?
- What can parents do to help their children through the difficult emotions surrounding sibling rivalry?
- As a parent or caregiver, how do you effectively speak to kids about tough emotions or issues like sibling rivalry, anger, even sexuality?