Brooke Herter James started writing in fifth grade as a devotee of the Harriet the Spy school of journalism. Once she had exhausted all spying and journaling possibilities in her home town, she retired her pen and did not pick it up again until she had finished college, a career in public health nursing and raising a family. Now that she's at it again, she alternates between writing funny stories for little kids and not-so-funny poems for adults. She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, a graduate of the Gotham Waters Workshop and the Yale Writers' Workshop. Brooke lives in a very old house in Vermont along with her husband, two donkeys, four chickens and a dog named Mack. (Actually, the donkeys and the chickens live in the barn.) Why Did the Farmer Cross the Road? (Sleeping Bear Press, 2017) is her first (and, hopefully, not last) picture book.