Fun facts about Renee...
Quick Facts
I’m a book enthusiast, travel fanatic, creative technologist, business owner, children’s book author, and “cat spoiler”. I would say “cat mom” or “cat owner”, but let’s face it, she runs the house. Sophie frequently makes appearances on Instagram so she thinks she’s a famous cat.
Teacher Life
I’ve been an educator for 15 years, primarily teaching fourth-grade Language Arts. I taught Kindergarten at the beginning of my career, following in my mom’s footsteps! After years of creating resources for my classroom, I started sharing them with others. What came next was the launch of my brand, The Teacher Tourist on Teachers Pay Teachers. I love putting a creative twist on Language Arts resources and creating products that are low-prep to no-prep! Knowing how much time I’m saving teachers is a real win-win. My favorite resources to create are nonfiction reading passages based on my travels. Some of my other favorites can be found on my homepage.
Teaching Certificates & Accolades
I’m often asked this question at school author visits, so here’s the scoop!
I hold the following teaching certificates:
- Generalist EC-4
- School Librarian EC-12
- Gifted & Talented EC-4
- 2013 National Teacher of the Year awarded by Kids in Need Foundation for my original project titled Author’s Celebration (you can read more about it here)
- 2018 Super Teacher Award awarded by my district
Travel Life
This leads me to my love of travel! If you ask me what my favorite trip has been, I won’t be able to tell you just one. Also, I’ll probably have a funny travel story that usually includes my husband. I always enjoy bringing a slice of the world to my resources and books. It’s rewarding to see children’s reactions and the connections they make!
Let’s have some fun learning more about Renee. These are real questions that children have asked Renee. Don’t see the question you had answered? Please send her an email or ask her when she visits your school!
1. Do you have any favorite colors? My favorite colors are purple and green.
2. What is your favorite animal? This is a hard question. I like a lot of animals. My top three are koalas, leopards, and pandas. OK, one more, I think tapirs are pretty cute! So are quokkas! OK, there’s my Top Five!
3. What is your favorite food? I live in Texas and love Mexican food. I would live off of chips and queso if I could!
4. What is a fun secret that you have in your books? I guess it’s not really a secret-secret, but you will find my cat hiding in all of my books. She’s a huge helper and this is a little thank you to her. By helping, I mean supervising and watching me sign and package books. Maybe she just likes boxes…hmmm!
5. You said you have a cat, what kind of cat is she? My cat’s name is Sophie and her nickname is Sopapilla. She is a mix of a tabby, calico, and bengal. Some days her bengal purrsonality comes out and she needs to burn off energy by running up and down the stairs or chasing the laser beam!
6. What are some favorite places you’ve visited? This is almost as hard as the favorite animal question! I will give you my Top Five places: Palau (Jellyfish Lake), Australia, Africa, Netherlands, and Tokyo.
7. Where do you get your inspiration for your books? A lot of the time it comes from my imagination and I sprinkle in some things from my life or when I was a teacher. I sometimes get inspiration when I’m on vacation. I try to think reallllllly hard to find book topics that aren’t out there yet. That’s the challenging part!
8. What do you like to do when you’re not writing books? I like to travel, exercise, do creative crafts or color, puzzles…anything that causes me to think and be challenged. I don’t like to just sit still.
9. Do you have any advice for someone that wants to start writing but doesn’t know how? First of all, I’d encourage you to start now. Just go for it! Also, take the time to do a lot of research. You want to make sure that your book is an original idea. Most importantly, don’t rush your book. Take the time to put out a polished product that you are proud of. Reach out if you have specific questions on this.
10. Do you illustrate your books? I wish I could, but no, I do not illustrate my books. While I’m pretty crafty and can paint abstract art on canvases, I can’t illustrate with enough detail to draw my own books.
Want to send Renee a letter or drawing in the mail? Please send an email for her address and she will write you back soon!