ABOUT KIMBERLY
I'm a science writer, essayist, editor, and children's book author who has been writing about nature, the environment, and health for more than 20 years. My latest passion is writing children's books, beginning with The Secret Pool(Tilbury House, 2013), a picture book about vernal pools, which has won awards including The John Burroughs Association Riverby Award for "excellent natural history books for young readers."
My newest joy is sharing my love of nature and writing with school children! I'm having a blast collaborating with illustrator Rebekah Raye leading workshops that combine science, writing and art for elementary school students through the wonderful Island Readers & Writers. Check out our adventures with The Secret Pool or contact us to set up a school visit!
My next children's book for Tilbury House, also about nature and science, is due out in 2015. The topic is "Secret" right now, but I'll keep you posted!
Whether I'm writing for children or adults, my work comes from my deep love for the natural world!
The Secret Pool
Kimberly Ridley Illustrated by Rebekah Raye Publication date: September 1, 2013 Hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-339-7 9 x 10, 32 pages, color illustrations Children / Nature; Grades 2-4 You might walk right by a vernal pool and not notice it. Often mistaken for mere puddles in the woods, vernal pools are the source of life for […]
Coming Soon
The Secret Bay
The Secret Bay by Kimberly Ridley illustrated by Rebekah Raye Estuaries form where river meets sea and fresh water mixes with salt. Teeming with life, these places of salt marshes, mudflats, and tidal backwaters serve as nursery areas for oceangoing fish, migratory stopovers for shorebirds, and homes for an amazing diversity of snails, bivalves, fish, […]
Extreme Survivors: Animals That Time Forgot (How Nature Works)
These and a very few other animals are extreme survivors. All of them have been around at least 125 million years, surviving mass extinctions like the one that ended the dinosaurs.Evolution may have altered their physiology through the eons, but not their appearance. More than 99 percent of all life forms have gone extinct during […]
ESSAYS & ARTICLES
Maine’s Songbird Superhighway
The morning air smells of balsam and wet duff as Adrienne Leppold sets out on a narrow trail to check the mist nets she set up before dawn to capture birds in a patch of forest in Orono. A great-crested flycatcher cries “wheep, WHEEP,” one of a dozen or so species calling and singing in […]
More InfoWhile You Were In
While you were in, a hermit thrush called. There’s no telling whether or when he’ll call again, fluting his song into the forest, where it will linger less than an instant. A doe stopped by while you were in, entertaining a parade of anxious thoughts. She decapitated your favorite phlox, the ones with the snowy […]
More InfoA Walk on the Wild Side
The moose peeks out between tall white pines, her dark brown hide blending with the bark. She swivels her ears and ambles toward us. My heart speeds up as she draws closer. She pokes her massive head through the door of the feeding station, where Steve Oliveri awaits with one of her favorite treats: sweet […]
More InfoScrounging for Spring
It happens every March. Family and friends from Parts South call to rave about their daffodils and tulips while we’re in the middle of a snowstorm. My neighbor Bill, however, puts things in perspective. “Anyone can love a tulip,” he scoffs. “But it takes a real connoisseur to appreciate three months of pussy willows.” March […]
More InfoGoing Wild: Enjoy Nature with Your Kids—Wherever You Live
If nature came in a bottle, you can bet that every pediatrician would prescribe it. Time spent in nature can improve a child’s attention, boost creativity, reduce stress and provide a host of other benefits. It’s also good for parents. Exploring the natural world together can strengthen family bonds. And you don’t need to trek […]
More InfoBig Box Sparrows
A craving for a cheap glimpse of green on a cold winter day recently drove me into the nearest Home Depot. I was rustling among the dracaenas when my husband, Tom, beckoned me. “There are birds in here,” he said. I followed him down the aisles and soon heard a chirp over my head. Perched […]
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