Martha Seif Simpson

I remember desperately wanting to learn how to read when I was young, but it took me a while to figure out how to do it. When I was in third grade, I found Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary, and that book turned me into a real reader! I read every Beverly Cleary book I could find and then moved on to other authors. I love children's books so much that I eventually became a children's librarian so I could keep reading kids' books, and then introduce them to boys and girls at the library! I started writing for fun when I was in eighth grade. I liked thinking up silly stories and inventing goofy character names. And I was always making up my own words to popular songs that I heard on the radio. This turned out to be a useful skill as a children’s librarian, because I have written lots of songs to use in storytimes. I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts. My parents owned a small store, Dotty’s Variety (named after my mother) which had a penny candy counter, back when you could actually buy Bazooka bubble gum and red licorice for a penny. My brother and I often helped out at the store during the 18 years that my parents owned it. Perhaps I was thinking of the store when I wrote The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah and Esther's Gragger: A Toyshop Tale of Purim. Another picture book, A Ring for a King, will be published in 2025. My husband, John, and I have four grown children. My first picture book, What NOT to Get Your Mom on Mother’s Day, is dedicated to them - Paul, Rose, Nick, and Shayna. Although I have been writing children’s stories for several years, it took a long time for me to break into the children’s book market. Meanwhile, I went to library school and became Head of Children’s Services at the Stratford Library in Stratford, CT, where I worked for 28 years before I retired. I published several library resource books which you can read about on my website. You can also find my monthly newsletter, The Simpsonian Muse, on my website. Look for me on Facebook as Martha KidLit Author.