I have always loved reading and wanted to be a writer since I was very young. I thought maybe I would write the Great American Novel. (And maybe one day I still will!) It wasn't until I became a mom, though, that I started to write stories for children.

I wrote many stories and tried to get them published as books. This went on for ten years! Then one day, my son, Max, asked if we could get a baby iguana. I thought it was a terrible idea for a pet, but a good idea for a book! That's how I WANNA IGUANA came to be. (And, by the way, we ended up getting two pet iguanas, one for Max and one for his sister, Emily.)

Everything in my life inspires me. My husband, my children, my friends, my pets. I love being an author and I particularly love going to schools to talk to kids and encourage them to write, too.

Since I WANNA IGUANA came out, I have written many more books, including two more "I WANNA" books, and I am still writing every day! 



This is my son, Max, many years ago, with his iguana, Lizzie.  Isn't Lizzie cute?

About Author: Karen Kaufman Orloff