Katherine Pebley O'Neal loves to write humor for kids.  Look for her new, funny Family Series coming from HarperCollins Zonderkidz in 2008!  O'Neal lives in Colorado Springs with one wonderful husband, four awesome kids and two fat dogs.  She likes to hike, bike, cook, write and best of all, read. 
    O'Neal is the author of The Stink Squad series (Simon & Schuster, 2003-04) including The Malodorous Mess, The Reek From Outer Space, The African Sniffari, and The Fume in the Tomb.  This series has been praised by the School Library Journal as " a light-hearted and droll mystery and detective series" filled with "word play and double entendres guaranteed to produce groans and guffaws from savvy readers".  All of the Stink Squad books are on the Accelerated Reader (AR) booklist for readers K-12.  The Malodorous Mess and The Reek From Outer Space have both been Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selections.  The Malodorous Mess won first place in the children's fiction category at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. 
    O'Neal is also the author of Public Speaking, A Student Guide (Prufrock Press, 2002), which is a handy resource for teachers and students alike.  Check out her blog on the the Prufrock Press website, http://www.prufrock.com/client/prufrockBlog/index.cfm.  O'Neal's stories and articles have appeared in more than fifteen magazines for young people, including Spider, Highlights for Children, Hopscotch, Boys' Quest and My Friend.  "The Trash Mobile", which appeared in the June 2000 issue of My Friend magazine, received honorable mention in the Florida State Writing Competition.  "The Name Game", which appeared in the September 2003 issue of Spider magazine was chosen by Harcourt, Inc. for the Maryland School Comprehensive Assessment Tests.
    O'Neal is a writing instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature.  You can find her on their website, too.  Click http://www.institutechildrenslit.com  O'Neal holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Kansas.  She earned her Master of Arts degree in teaching from The Colorado College, where she later became a student teacher supervisor for their master's program.  She has taught a variety of grade school classes along with summer programs for gifted and talented students.  She loves to visit local schools to talk with children about humor in writing!  O'Neal is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
    "It is so uplifting to know your writing has had an effect on a young reader!  Whether your words make them laugh, or cry, or roll their eyes, or think about things in a new way, you have mede a connection.  What a privilege it is to be invited into a written connection with kids."  --Katherine Pebley O'Neal