Mary Boone’s book research has taken her places many people have never been … chest deep in the Union River to count salmon, inside a cricket barn, and, perhaps most daring of all, the front row of a Justin Bieber concert surrounded by screaming teens. Mary has written 70+ nonfiction books for young readers, many for the library market. Her most recent titles are Unfathomable: Twenty Wild (But True) Stories of the Ocean (Bright Matter/Random House Kids), The Flying Feminist: The First Woman to Build and Fly her Own Plane (Andersen Press), Pedal Pusher: How One Woman’s Bicycle Adventure Helped Change the World (Henry Holt/Macmillan), School of Fish (Albert Whitman), and Bugs for Breakfast: How Eating Insects Could Help Save the Planet (Chicago Review Press).

A former newspaper reporter, Mary has written everything from books and magazine articles to park placards and eulogies. (Truly, never a dull moment!) She’s a long-time member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is a frequent presenter at area writing and library conferences. She and her family live in Tacoma, Washington, with a very stubborn Airedale terrier named Ruthie Bader.