About Frances
An avid reader, Frances will tell you that the morals and values she learned from fairytales were as much a part of her education as the instruction she received in school. Her nature loving rhyming stories evolved from all the things she holds near and dear to her heart: land, animals, sea, and sky to name but a few. The fact that she can convey that love of nature through picture books and rhymes is a dream come true. As a Master Naturalist in Florida's coastal systems, she feels at home surrounded by the natural world and takes pleasure in observing and studying the connections between earth's Frances Keiser, wife, mother, grandmother, author, activist, and lifelong student, never tires of a new challenge. She has a can-do, will-do attitude, and encourages children and adults alike to take action in their own communities and create stories of their own.
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Quote from Hugh & Frances: “Children receive misinformation from many sources. We’re committed to make our books not only a pleasure to read and look at, but also a source of factual information. We have each book checked for accuracy by the experts.” |
| Bookstore, ©2001-2008 Sagaponack Books | |
Author and conservationist, Frances has over thirty years' experience working in the areas of wildlife preservation and early childhood education. Her background, coupled with a lifetime of poetry writing and independent studies, led Frances to craft her popular rhyming series and shed some light on current environmental concerns.
plants and animals. It's a never-ending fascination, one she enjoys sharing with others.
I was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1947 to Phyllis (Crockett) and Frank Russum. My mother loved and cared for her family as a stay-at-home mom. My father, an engineer and lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, died in a crash while test piloting an aircraft and was buried the day I was born. I inherited both his adventuresome spirit and his name—Frankie, which well suited the tomboy I soon became.
I've been curious about plants and animals and in love with exploring nature all my life. I had my first solo nature excursion when I was 3 years old. Too young to remember this adventure, I rely on the memories of family. With the help of Colonel, our pet collie, I managed to escape the confines of our fenced yard in Tucson, Arizona, to explore the desert beyond. Hours later, after a frantic search, I was found napping comfortably in a shaded hollow—snuggled against a large desert tortoise! Ever-faithful Colonel was watching over us.
By the time I was 4, I was exploring the fields and streams adjacent to our home in Maplewood, New Jersey. The plants, insects, and animals fascinated me and I never tired of watching and inspecting. I loved to collect leaves, flowers, and berries, and mix them together to extract their juices and make different colors.
ied. My childhood home was an apartment in a big old house. The house was converted from a hotel built in the early 1800s. It was situated between a pre-Revolutionary horse and buggy route that traveled between New Ark (Newark) and Morristown, and the east branch of the Raw Way (Rahway) River. Ancient trees that I loved to climb surrounded the property. One supported a large tree house built by my playmates and me. There were fields for exploring, and a river for rafting and swimming amon
g fish and curious muskrats. Horse stables were across the stream, and my sister and I mucked the stalls in exchange for trail rides into the nearby South Mountain Reservation.