Thirty years ago, I had a little baby, Maaike. My heart grew very big, because I loved her so much. Later, my heart got bigger because Anneke and then Robby were born.

More and more, I love to travel. Wherever I go I see people who are a little bit different than me, but also the same. More and more, I feel mother-bearish about the children in far away places. It feels to me, as though these children are part of my family. And now, my heart has grown very wide.

Me and kindergarten kids in China

And really, these children are part of my big family. We people are more the same than we are different. We're all mamas and papas and brothers and sisters. I like to write books that make you feel that way, too.

I think, when children are born, that they are given a fancy present. That present is Importance. Each of you is Important. You are unique and beloved and cherished. That is your birthright. Every child in every place in every family has the same fancy present. No more or less for any of us.

Just before school

When I write a story about another place, my job is to show you the ways you are different (like maybe the kind of house you live in), but mostly, the ways you are the same.

Fancy day at International School of Kenya

These are the books that tell about My Big Family.