We're Better Together: A Book About Community

She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She wanted to be a writer from a young age. She grew up in Secane, Pennsylvania attended high school in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. She won a poetry writing contest when she was in high school.

She began writing for children in 1979, when her own children were older and more independent. She writes both prose and in poetry. Most of her books are picture books, but she has also written novels for children.

Her husband is author Jerry Spinelli They met while working for a magazine company: she in circulation; he as an editor. They have six children.