Kate DiCamillo

1. Kate DiCamillo By: E. B.

2. Kate DiCamillo is the author of the award winning children's book, because of Winn-Dixie. • She has also written the Tail of Despereaux, The Miraculous Tales of Edward Tulane, and Mercy Watson.

3. Where she lives? • She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, raised in Clermont, Florida and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota

4. She loves to eat but cannot cook! • She is not married and has no kids but she is an aunt to 3 wonderful kids Luke, Roxanne, and Max

5. Childhood friend • When she was little she had a poodle named Nanette. • She loved to dress her up especially in a green tutu and then a disco dancer.

6. She was a very sick kid. • When they moved to Florida she was suffered from chronic pneumonia. • She used books to see what the world was like when she was always trapped inside.

7. Writing • Writing has always been a dream of Kate's but she didn’t start till she was 29 • She got a job at a book warehouse and she was surrounded by tons of children's books it wasn’t long until she fell in love with them.

8. Because of Winn-Dixie • She wrote because of Winn-Dixie because she was homesick for Florida [she lived in Minneapolis at the time] she wanted a dog but the apartment she livee in didn’t allow them.

9. Rewards • Kate says that the most rewarding part about being an author is getting letters from kids. • She said one day a kid wrote and said, “I didn’t like books but after Winn-Dixie I love them!” that’s what makes it all worth while.

10. Honor • Kate Dicamillo won the Newberry award for Because of Winn-Dixie It was a dream come true for her she said nobody was surprised as she was, “After the Newbery committee called me, I spent the whole days walking into walls.” “Literally," she says. "I was stunned. And very, very happy."

11. Luke Bailey • One day a her best friends son asked her to write a story for him her is there conversation” 'Well,' I said, 'I don't normally write stories on command.' 'But this is a story that I know you would want to tell,' he said. 'It's about an unlikely hero. He has exceptionally large ears.' 'What happens to this hero?' I asked. 'I don't know,' he said. 'That's why I want you to write it down, so you can find out.” So the Tail of Desperaux was made.

12. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane • One year she got a toy rabbit for Christmas • I brought him home, placed him on a chair in my living room, and promptly forgot about him. A few days later, I dreamed that the rabbit was face-down on the ocean floor - lost, and waiting to be found. • So Edward Tulane became a book

13. Some people may think well what does an author do all day? Does she write a book a day sit home and think about her next chapter? No • She said her goal is to write 2 pages a day 5 days a week she says "E. B. White said, 'All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world,' " she says. "That's the way I feel too."

14. What she wrote her pride and joy

15. Inspiration • These are Kate's inspiring words to writers to be everywhere “If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart.”