Barbara Odanaka

Biography

From my earliest days, I loved books and the magic of a well-told tale. I spent countless hours at our local library, where I discovered treasures including my all-time favorite, “”Charlie And The Chocolate Factory”” by Roald Dahl. In first grade, I discovered an old (manual) typewriter in our garage and slowly tap-tap-tapped out my first story: “”The Happy Hamster.”” I was hooked! Years later, I was lucky enough to land a job at the Los Angeles Times. I spent nearly a decade there when an editor called me aside and asked why I had been rhyming some of the lines in my column. I had not realized I was doing this! It dawned on me that maybe it was time to pursue a different kind of writing. Since then, I’ve published four books for kids, all in rhyme. I hope my readers feel the same magic I did when I was their age.