My Basic Bio:

 

Barbara Kanninen is a children's writer and Ph.D. environmental economist.  She has written 20 easy readers and other curriculum materials for educational companies such as Macmillan-McGraw-Hill, Core Knowledge Foundation, Kane Press and Kaeden Books.  Her first picture book for children, A Story with Pictures, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and was named a "Picture Book We Admire" by the Children's Literature Network.  Barbara lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband and two boys. 

Photo by J.R. Corkrum

 

 

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions:

How do you pronounce your name?

 

Say "cannon," and then add another "en" at the end.  It's a three syllable word with the emphasis on the first syllable.  Kanninen is a Finnish name and "inen" is a common Finnish ending.  Now that you know that, I bet you'll start seeing "inen" names all over the place.

What's new?

Well, I'm hoping to have something big to tell you soon... but for now, what's new is the new year, which means a new haircut and fresh ideas that I'm finally finding time to address.  Here's to the creative process! 

Where did you go to college?

A lot of places!  I have a Bachelor's degree from Ohio University, a Master of Science in Economics from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.  Phew, that's a lot of years of school!

What kinds of things to you write?

 

In addition to my work in economics, I write picture books, short stories, easy readers, nonfiction and poetry for children.  Many of these are published in children's magazines such as Highlights for Children, Ladybug and Fun for Kids.  Here's something scary.  Highlights has re-sold several of my stories to educational testing companies.  Eek!  Some poor kids are going to have to read my stories on tests!  Sorry about that, kids!

What are you working on right now?

 

I just finished several projects, including a picture book biography, a new Jake book for Kaeden, a short story for the Highlights fiction contest and an activity book for a soon-to-be-named client (I can't announce until it's published due to confidentiality -- stay tuned). 

What are you reading right now?

 

I've got so many books going, I can't keep them straight.  Let's see: I'm currently reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Travel Team by Mike Lupica, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The John McPhee Reader.  I need some snow days to catch up!

What are you playing on your i-pod?

My current favorites are k.d. lang's cover of "Hallelujah" and anything by James Morrison, Johnny Cash and Girlyman

Favorite on-line video?

Hands down, it's this one:

Boy Soprano Sings "Queen of the Night" Aria

Does anyone actually think you're successful?

Hey, I'm glad you asked!  As a matter of fact, I was Ms. November in author Ellen Jackson's "Secrets of Success" column.  Click on the link and scroll down to find November 2005.

Got questions? Click on "Contact Me" and ask!

 

 

 


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