Jean Craighead George was born on July 2nd into a family of naturalists. On weekends they camped in the woods near their Washington, D.C. home, climbed trees to study owls, gathered edible plants and made fish hooks from twigs. Her first pet was a turkey vulture. She began writing in the third grade and hasn't stopped. She has now written over 80 books. George received a degree in Science and Literature from Penn State University and started her career as a reporter for the Washington Post and a member of the White House Press Corp. Her book My Side of the Mountain received a Newbery Honor in 1960 and Julie of the Wolves won a Newbery Award in 1973. Julie of the Wolves, a riveting tale of a young girl who gets lost on the Alaskan tundra and survives by being adopted by a wolf pack, has become a modern classic. George has three grown children, all naturalists—together they raised 173 wild animals before returning them to nature. She continues to travel and explore and goes hiking regularly.
