Mittens, mittens
Won’t fit the kittens
And I don’t know how
​They’ll fit the cow!  

 by KJ, age 7

About KJ

KJ (right) and high school friend Dede (left)

Age 8

Christmas, Christmas

eating cakes

Now we all

get stomach aches.

age 7

I grew up in Andover, Massachusetts as the oldest child of four (two sisters and a brother).  

I wrote my first poem in the second grade (see picture, right)--and by fourth grade, I had filled up a few diaries and was reading as much as I could.  I loved going over to my best friend’s house where we would lie on the carpet and read our favorite books. 

Unfortunately, I developed a bad habit of walking while reading—which I had to stop after tripping and falling more than once! My favorite types of books were fairy tales, stories from other cultures, and books about Greek myths, as well as novels about girls in interesting situations. It was fun to put on plays with my friends and siblings, to follow people around taking notes (like “Harriet the Spy”), and to create crazy clubs like the “Mary Poppins Fan Club”.

 In high school, I ran on the cross-country (long distance) team, worked at the Brigham’s ice-cream store, and went square dancing almost every week. A writer on the school newspaper, I thought I might grow up to be reporter.Parodies and funny poetry have always been a part of my life. 

Throughout school, I wrote silly songs and poems to entertain my friends. In college I majored in English and Spanish, then later studied to become a psychologist. Since then, I’ve had lots of different kinds of jobs trying to help people to have better lives.

​Now I live in Concord MA with my husband, Steven, son, David, and my daughter Elina lives nearby. I love being a mom, a writer, and a psychologist. I got lots of ideas for my poems from being with my children and from the children that I meet. And I still like to make up funny poems and songs for my family and friends.