Born in Philadelphia and raised in Florida, Ruth Belov Gross has lived in New York City ever since graduating from the University of Miami. Ruth's first job out of college was at a children's publishing house, but she never dreamed of becoming a children's author herself.

"It was a nice accident," says the author about her sudden change of career. In 1969, at the suggestion of Scholastic editor Beatrice Schenk deRegniers, Ms. Gross took some time out of a successful medical writing career to write her first children's book, What Do Animals Eat?

The book grew out of her knowledge of animals and nutrition, and her penchant for doing research. After a while, she decided that she had fallen upon the very thing she wished to do for the rest of her life.

Ruth says that the most interesting part of her job is the questions she receives from her young audience - she says they often catch her off guard with difficult questions!

At last count, Ruth Belov Gross is the author of more than 20 books for children, ranging from biographies to folk tales. "It isn't easy," she says. "It can take me hours to write one paragraph." And she researches her facts thoroughly.

"It's terribly important to be accurate," she says, "and to present different points of view. There's no one right answer to anything, and I want to let kids know there are many possibilities."

Children also tend to keep Ruth Belov Gross on her toes. They write to her about her work, asking, "Where do you get your information?" and "How do you know?" She relies heavily on reader input, and makes frequent visits to schools to talk to children about books and writing. When she is in the midst of a project, she asks children for help. They have very good ideas, and ask probing questions.

"When I was working on If You Were a Ballet Dancer, several children asked how dancers can turn around and around without getting dizzy. I never would have thought of that!"

Ms. Gross enlists the help of her husband William, too. He is an engineer and delights in reading and reviewing everything she writes. Her most recent book is about different kinds of nonverbal communication, from picture writing to sign language. It's called You Don't Need Words: A Book About Ways People Talk Without Words. Several of Gross' titles have been chosen as Outstanding Science Trade Books of the Year, as Child Study Association Books of the Year, and Library of Congress Books of the Year.

Booklists/Awards
A Book About Your Skeleton, 1994
If You Grew Up with George Washington, 1993
The Bremen-town Musicians, 1985
The Emperor's New Clothes, 1971