Kathleen Baxter is a teacher and librarian who spent more years than she cares to remember as head of children’s services in the Anoka County Library in suburban Minneapolis. She says that the most exciting thing about her is that she is a native of Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in On the Banks of Plum Creek.

She is now a children’s literature consultant who does many workshops every year. She has been a presenter for The Bureau of Education and Research, has co-written seven books: Gotcha: Non-Fiction Booktalks to Get Kids Excited about Reading; Gotcha Again; Gotcha Covered; Gotcha Good; Gotcha for Guys; Gotcha Again for Guys; Get Those Guys Reading. Kathleen has written a column on nonfiction booktalking for School Library Journal since 1996. She consults with several nonfiction publishers and presents at school and library conferences all over the U.S.A. She was a member of the 2001 Newbery Committee.

Kathleen was interviewed in the Minneapolis StarTribune (4/24/07).

A fan of the Betsy-Tacy books, and an active member of the Maud Hart Lovelace Society, Kathleen is delighted that HarperCollins has reissued the High School books about Betsy Ray.