Alice McGinty’s sense of wonder is her secret to writing picture books that appeal to children. She describes it as “an amazing sense of awe at the little things in the world. The way the sun hits the snow and it sparkles. How good it feels to dance and to move.”

Children’s literature had a profound effect on McGinty as a child. “I remember my Dad reading Drummer Hoff [by Barbara Emberley] to me. We repeated the phrases together,” she says. “I developed a love of language really early, and I still have that.” When she readCharlotte’s Web, she appreciated the effect of E.B. White’s words. “The power of being a writer wound itself into wanting to be a writer,” she says. More…