Patricia Thomas grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania where she learned the delight of summers spent barefoot and hands digging in garden dirt. From her teacher parents, she also learned the joy of books, reading, poetry, and rhyme. The gardening part paid off when profits from 4-H tomato projects helped finance tuition at Penn State University. She married her PSU sweetheart, became a copywriter/editor, raised a family, and discovered she was a children’s writer. Today, nearly 45 years later, her first book, Stand Back, Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!” still sends kids around the world into gales of laughter. She has presented workshops, writing courses, lectures, and teacher-education seminars.