athi Appelt was born in the front seat of a Ford as her father drove wildly to the Army hospital at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. He arrived there just moments after she and her mother met each other for the first time. When the M.P.'s who were chasing him across the fort realized what was going on, they decided not to arrest him. Kathi still loves cars and has never been good at waiting.

She grew up in Houston with two sisters, her mom and dad, and a host of relatives, including step-relatives. There were always pets in the household too, including dogs, cats, mice, and even chickens.

Kathi is the author of over thirty books for children and young adults. Her debut novel, The Underneath (Atheneum / Simon & Schuster 2008), illustrated by David Small, won a Newbery Honor Medal, the USA PEN Center Award for Children's Literature, and was chosen as a National Book Award finalist.

Her second novel, Keeper, with illustrations by August Hall, received four starred reviews and was named a Best Book of the Year (2010) by School Library Journal, Horn Book and Kirkus, and was the final runner up in the “Battle of the Books,” sponsored by School Library Journal.

She is currently at work on a picture book, along with Marc Rosenthal, about Mogie, a labradoodle who serves as the ambassador for the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.

Kathi Appelt is a member of the faculty at the Vermont College MFA Program in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults.

She and her husband Ken live in College Station, TX with four cats--Jazz, Hoss, D’jango and Peach. Their two sons, Jacob and Cooper, are all grown up. They're both musicians and both play the double bass. She misses them!