Etta Kaner - Author

Etta Kaner writes for both children and educators. While the majority of her children's books are nonfiction, some of her more recent books are a combination of fiction and nonfiction. Many of them have been translated into other languages. A number of her books have won awards, namely the Silver Birch Award, the ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award, the Animal Behavior Society's Outstanding Children's Book Award, the Scientific American Young Readers Book Award and the Science in Society Book Award.

While her earlier books were inspired by her two daughters, many of her later books were inspired by the elementary school students whom she taught.

Etta loves to interview experts in fields with which she is unfamiliar, either in person or by phone. She finds that most people are very cooperative and love to talk about their area of interest and expertise. During these interviews, she often accumulates more information than she needs for her book. When making a decision as to what to include in the book, she uses the "wow" test. She tries to choose information that will make her readers say "wow" when they read it.

Writing books also allows Etta to create the many groaners that she likes to make up but which are not always appreciated by her family!

When she's not writing or teaching, Etta loves to spend time with her family (her husband and two grown daughters), garden, read humorous or historical fiction books, dance, explore new places, go to live theater and cook for company (but not all at the same time!). She does all of these activities in Toronto, Canada.