Eric Pinder.

Eric Pinder still wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. In the meantime, you can often find him riding his bike or hanging out with bears in New Hampshire. Eric’s books for children include If All the Animals Came Inside and How to Share with a Bear, and he also has written several books about mountains and weather for adults.

A lifelong interest in science and nature led Eric to work for seven years atop the snowy, windswept summit of Mount Washington, the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.” His experiences there inspired his first book for children, Cat in the Clouds. After the leaving the mountain, he taught for many years at a small arts college in the woods: Chester College of New England.

Eric also has taught creative writing at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and other colleges, and today he often visits schools and libraries to share stories about the writing life, books, and animals. He holds a BA from Hampshire College and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Despite the fact that bears appear in almost every book he’s ever written, his favorite animal is actually a giraffe. Or maybe a stegosaurus.