About Me
Top Awards and Accolades
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2010 Kid’s IndieNext pick (The Body Finder)
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2011 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best for Teens (The Body Finder)
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2011 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (The Body Finder)
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2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (The Pledge)
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2014 Top pick for Page-to-Screen by Studio System News (The Taking)
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2018 B&N National Storytime selection (Cece Loves Science)
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2019 Amazon Best Book of the Month (Cece Loves Science and Adventure)
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Starred review from School Library Journal (Libby Loves Science)
Official Bio
Kimberly is the author of award-winning young adult novels, including The Body Finder series, The Pledge trilogy, and The Taking trilogy. She has also co-authored many popular picture books with Shelli R. Johannes, including the Loves Science series, the Farm Friends series, and Penny: The Engineering Tail of The Fourth Little Pig. Her first solo picture book is Baby Steps: A Picture Book For New Siblings (Sept. 2024).
Kimberly’s debut, The Body Finder, was a 2011 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, a Kid’s IndieNext pick, and was the 2011 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best for Teens selection. The Pledge was a 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Her most recent YA novel, The Taking, was named top pick for page-to-screen by Studio System News. Her Loves Science picture book series has been named a B&N National Storytime selection, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and received a starred review from School Library Journal. Her books have been translated into over 15 languages.
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She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where the gloomy weather is ideal for staying indoors to write.
Not So Official Bio
I was born and raised in the Seattle area, with the exception of a few short stints in Phoenix, Boise, and San Jose. I had a colorful childhood, raised by a single mother who worked her butt off to make ends meet. She showed my brother and me how to enjoy life on a shoestring budget. She was the kind of person who, given the choice between paying a bill and taking us to the circus, would always opt for the circus. Yet somehow, she always managed to pay the bill. She was the one who taught me not to take myself too seriously.
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My publishing career began at an early age, when I started making homemade coloring books with sheets of blank paper and a stapler and then went door-to-door to sell them. Unfortunately, my neighbors had limited disposable income for such frivolous purchases, so I was forced to seek my fortunes elsewhere.
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I first fell in love with writing (giving up my childhood dreams of being a Veterinarian, and then my later aspirations of "lady trucker") when I signed up for Journalism as my 7th grade elective. It was supposed to an easy A, but it soon became my passion. I moved on to be Copy Editor of the high school yearbook so that I could correct other people's writing mistakes and fill in when they missed their deadlines (and hey, it was high school...deadlines were frequently missed!). I wrote my first book when I was twenty, and it was awful, but I never stopped writing. I also had a hard time accepting no as an answer. That stubbornness has served me well.
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I now spend far too much time of my free time ordering stuff off the Internet and binge-watching Netflix with my husband and kids!