About Me

I grew up in a neighborhood in Philadelphia where the houses on the block are joined in a row. Through the walls, you could sometimes hear the neighbor's conversations—especially the family feuds. A friend once asked, "How can you tell your house? They all look alike!" I thought he was blind because it was so obvious to me. Our house had a rose bush in front of it and a big W (for Wolfson) on the screen door. My sister was really lucky because she and her best friend who lived next door developed a code of taps so they could "talk" through the wall when they were supposed to be sleeping.

I think I always wanted to be some kind of artist or writer. When I was in 5th and 6th grades, I used to hold camps for the younger kids on the street. I didn't charge much—three cents an hour—so all the parents loved it and were happy to enroll their kids. Truthfully, it was mostly an opportunity for me to have a cast to perform the shows that I wrote and directed. The one I remember most was a musical version of "The Little Mermaid" with my sister in the title role. It was awful but everyone applauded anyway.

While I was growing up, I wanted to be so many different things. A dancer. A director. A teacher. The weather anchor on TV. A spy. A photographer. I couldn't make up my mind. Strangely enough, I entered Temple University as a math and physics major (I was really good at puzzles), then graduated four years later with a degree in English and documentary film.

So what did I become? A newspaper reporter. I guess I fell in love with the idea of being right in the thick of what is going on in the world. My personality was an odd combination of being both very shy and very nosy. A reporter gets to meet all sorts of people and ask lots of personal questions. I convinced myself that I wasn't prying. I was just doing my job!

I started working at a newspaper in Philadelphia, moved to one in New Jersey, then to a paper in South Florida and finally to the San Jose Mercury News in California. After I gave birth to my first child, Alex, I decided that I didn't want to work full-time. When my daughter Gwen was born three years later, I established myself as a freelance writer and journalist. Today, one of my jobs, along with writing novels, is editing a parenting magazine. If you want to know more about my work as a journalist, click here.

About ten years ago, I moved to Santa Cruz, a very interesting town on the central California coast. It's known for many things—a university, redwood trees, fog, earthquakes and one of the world's best old-fashioned roller coasters on the boardwalk. Santa Cruz is considered the surf capital of California.

One of my favorite things to do is put on my wetsuit—the water is freezing here!—and go boogie-boarding. Many mornings, I wake up and still can't believe that I get to live only a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean.

My very first piece of fiction for children was a funny story about an all-orange monster called, "The Orange Monster Guy" which appeared in Jack and Jill Magazine. Truthfully, my son Alex, who was five at the time, should have gotten some of the writing credit. He still has a wild imagination.

Alex, who attends the University of Arizona, would much rather draw then write. He's a terrific cartoonist. Check out his drawing of me hard at work at my computer.

My daughter Gwen, who is now in high school, is a wonderful writer with great taste in books. She put together this list of some of her favorites. Why don't you check them out and let us know if you have the same taste. Or, you can recommend something for others to read by clicking here: jill@jillwolfson.com.

Gwen's List of Great Books, in No Particular Order

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech—A mixture of quirky characters and great themes.

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen—One of the first young adult books I read and although it was probably seven years ago, I remember it so clearly.

Holes, by Louis Sachar—Great story and a pretty good movie.

Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli—Heartbreaking, hilarious, and good overall morals.

Skellig, by David Almond—Intense and scary, but oddly uplifting.

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson—For a little bit older kids, I'd say for 7th graders. This age seems infatuated with the topic of this story.

Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky—Also for older kids and probably my favorite book of all time. I think everyone around this age can really identify with all of the characters.

Anything by Roald Dahl—My all-time favorite writer (besides my mom), especially The BFG and The Witches

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster—One of those books that you will enjoy at any age. Written in the style of Roald Dahl, full of puns and outrageous characters.

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell—The same general plot idea as Hatchet. It's about an abandoned girl on an island and how she survives.

Lizard Music—Daniel Pinkwater is great.

Crash, by Jerry Spinelli—This story deals with acceptance. The narrator is a high school jock/bully, but it shows his side of the story.

The Missing Piece and any collection of poetry by Shel Silverstein—He has been my idol since I was a tiny kid. His writing is witty, creepy, off-beat, and fantastic.

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson—The favorite book of everyone in my sixth-grade class.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis—I had an obsession with this book for years. My brother and I wrote a fan letter to the author and he wrote back. Images from this book still pop into my mind.

Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume—This whole series is hilarious, a whole bunch of stories within a bigger story. It doesn't have the typical conflict/resolution feel to it.

The Brothers Grimm fairy tales—These stories are so dark and interesting. They feel completely different from anything kids usually read. So much better than the sanitized, Disney-ized versions.

The Big Orange Splot, by D. Manus Pinkwater—A great book with colorful pictures that you can look at forever. I know it is a picture book, but even at age 16, I still like it. It talks about being different, doing what's in your heart. "My house is me and I am it, and this is where I like to be, it looks like all my dreams."

Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parish—The author of this series really understands little kids and how their minds work. The character is constantly literalizing everything, using the wrong definition of the word and it makes kids feel superior. Amelia cracks me up.

That Was Then, This Is Now, by S.E. Hinton—Definitely for older kids. I had a fascination with this book and its themes—death, friendship and following your own beliefs.