As a child, Jenny and her best friend would act out scenes from their favorite books, including leaving notes for each other in a hollowed-out tree à la Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg.
As an adult, Jenny tried out several careers before landing the perfect one: a K-8 school librarian! With classes in and out of the library all day, she searched for the most engaging books to read aloud and recommend. Helping kids find books they loved was the best part of the job.
Before becoming a librarian, Jenny wrote for magazines and newspapers and co-authored a resource guide for new parents. Her work with children motivated her to try writing her own picture books. The first one, Elsa’s Chessboard, was inspired by her chess-playing refugee grandmother.
Jenny’s favorite spot to write is near the ocean on California’s North Coast. A driftwood deer, built many years ago by her parents, is now a character in one of her stories.
She’s also working on a nonfiction picture book about an abandoned harbor seal pup found near where she volunteers as a seal docent.
Jenny is a producer/writer on Three Brothers in Shanghai, a short documentary directed by her son Nick Andrus. The film tells the true story of Jenny’s father and his brothers who escaped Hitler by fleeing to Shanghai with their parents during WWII. Watch the trailer and find event information at Three Brothers in Shanghai .
Jenny is a member of SCBWI, 12X12, the Bay Area Association of Children’s Librarians, the American Association of School Librarians, and the American Library Association. She is represented by Sarah Stephens of Red Fox Literary.
