About Julia
Childhood
I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to the Greiders. They always called me Julie when I was a kid, not Julia (too adult-sounding!), and I still go by both names. Due to my father's job, our family moved often. My older sister, Sherry, and I attended seven different schools in five states. We never minded, as we always had each other wherever we went. It helped that we were close in age — born exactly one year and one week apart.
When Sherry started school ahead of me and began learning how to read, I was SO jealous! But my sis was nice enough to come home every day and teach me how to read. By the time I started Kindergarten, I was an avid reader. Now Sherry is a teacher and reading specialist...and I still love to read.
And Then Some
In 1985 I left home to attend the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where I received degrees in Latin American Studies and Political Science. I traveled frequently to Latin America during that time, but mostly to Colombia, where I worked in a program for street children. I loved working with the kids, but it was also very sad to meet so many kids without homes or families. I later co-authored a chapter in Hate Crime: the Global Politics of Polarization about the abuse and murder of Colombian street children. I still travel to Colombia whenever I can.
Now I live 80 miles west of Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, with my two sons, Kyle and Ryan. In addition to writing children's books, I am the librarian at McKinley Elementary School – a job I love as much as writing!
Read more about Julia...
at Cricket for Kids.