Nancy Rose lives near Halifax, Nova Scotia and is a retired high school Guidance Counsellor and Family Studies teacher. Nancy comes from a family of seven children where creativity was always encouraged and over the years she has pursued a variety of craft endeavors in her spare time. A love of photography, her interest in nature and wildlife, and a storage room full of fabrics, paint, clay and craft materials merged when she discovered the curiousity of the little American Red Squirrels who raided the bird feeders in her yard. By making miniature settings and squirrel size props, she has created numerous scenarios where the inquisitive squirrels find themselves in some rather human like poses as they search for peanuts hidden in the props. Her favourite squirrel, Mr. Peanuts, was the first to eat from her hand and came regularly to check out whatever Nancy put out on her deck rail. Her images spread all over the internet as viewers delighted in the cute scenarios Nancy creates with her miniature props. Today Mr. Peanut's offspring and cousins still visit daily and Nancy hopes that together they can continue to delight viewers for years to come. Nancy's first children's book, the Secret Life of Squirrels, was released in October 2014 with a Canadian and an American version (notice the color of the mailbox on the cover) and three more followed, continuing the story of Mr. Peanuts, a most unusual squirrel, and his friends. After moving to a new home, Oakley the Squirrel (The Search for Z) became the star of Nancy's next board books, and his friends and cousins also star in a series of calendars by Workman Publishing. Several of Nancy's images are available in greeting cards from Galison and Palm Press as well as on a line of quilt fabrics from Clothworks.com. She continues to build her own props and take photos of the squirrels who are still happy to work for peanuts. :-)
