I grew up in Norway and spent a childhood deeply connected to nature.

My memory of my childhood in Norway is as lovely as depicted in these pictures, filled with freedom and wonder. In my sixth year, my older brothers were both in school, and I spent a year in nature essentially on my own. This was a very inward time for me, a time of awakening to a yearning for connectedness to the whole. It was a time of wondering what lies behind things and what lies within, and how everything is arranged beyond the material world our senses perceive.

That time was the beginning of a lifetime of journeying within for me. This is still ever present in my life, and must, I am sure, seep into my work.

I also loved books as a child, and pored over the illustrations in the one Elsa Beskow book that had been given to me. I lived myself into the pictures. This experience of poring over beautiful illustrations as a child contributes now to my creating beautiful picture books in my turn.

It has been my great privilege and joy to have been a teacher of young children all my life. Now that I am retired, I am delighted to find myself called to a new path – that of writing and illustrating books for children.

The Star Children is my first book, but I am currently working on two more books. One of these books is a continuation of the Star Children. It is the story of the struggles of one little star child who is left behind and does not go back to the Sky World with the others. The other book is a collection of lovely songs and rhymes that I have used in the Kindergarten over the years. These build an emotional connection to nature and a greater awareness of what is happening around us, through the seasons. It is my hope that this book will be a sourcebook for pre-school and primary teachers, but will also be a read-aloud book to be enjoyed by children and their parents, grandparents and caregivers everywhere.