Julia King is a botanist by training, but was inspired to grow in a new direction from reading picture books to her two small children. Julia developed her ideas about writing children’s books while observing her own children’s learning behaviors in the outside classroom of their small farm. She watched her children’s increased engagement when studying “real stuff” and found that there was a similar enthusiasm for photos in picture books. With a scarcity of photo-illustrated children’s picture books, Julia saw a need to fill this gap by writing books that could be used in a K-3rd grade curriculum.At a fundamental level, Julia wants to encourage children’s exploration of nature, show outside playtime through her stories, and provide decision-making opportunities within the boundary of her text. It is Julia’s ultimate hope that her stories will draw in children who might not otherwise be interested in reading and provide children a way to understand the natural world --- a world outside their homes and away from computer games and television.
With 17 years experience in the field of environmental consulting, Julia has honed her ability to tell stories about the physical world through her text and photographs. Julia’s consulting career has focused on the observation of plants, animals, and the environment with the purpose of detailed analysis in technical reports. Her professional experience has laid a solid foundation for writing about natural sciences in the “Bingo” series.
Bingo, a gray-striped tabby, was surreptitiously adopted by the Kings. This special cat showed his adventurous spirit as he wandered around their farm, and therefore found himself in the starring role of Julia’s plan. Julia framed Bingo’s actions in photographs and translated his encounters into a farm-themed story, thus filling her goal to bring “real stuff” into children’s picture books. Bingo Explores the Farm, the second book in the Bingo the cat series, shows examples of farm life, exploration, and decision making, continuing where Bingo’s Big Adventure left off. This series is meant to inspire children to make personal connections to farm life and the natural world, which may be lacking in their modern lives.
In Bingo’s Big Adventure, Julia has translated cat thoughts into human language through her almost telepathic-like abilities, interpreting what Bingo experiences in his first outing on their property into easy to read text. When not translating “cat” into "human", Julia teaches her two kids, Wyatt and Ella, how to shovel horse manure, play in the mud, identify weedy plant species, and build Lego towers. Julia also sneaks out of the house when the kids are sleeping to play volleyball with a bunch of moms like herself.
Julia graduated from University of California, Davis in 1993 with a BS in Botany.
To sum it up Julia describes herself as: Mom, equestrian, house wife, botanist, wetland scientist, children's book author, nurse, gardener, chicken wrangler, amateur veterinarian, laundry hanger, taxi driver, cleaning wench, short order cook, friend, etc...
Julia riding Gemma, 6yr old Dutch Warmblood Mare