Ruth Amanda
Ruth Amanda is a book-a-holic. She once joined a twelve-step program which involved reading only twelve books (one a month)...she failed miserably and so far in 2023 has completed reading upwards of 250 books. Of course, some of those were picture books...
In addition to reading, Ruth loves to draw, paint, write stories, hike and swim. She also loves to hunt for and photograph snails, slugs, ants, millipedes, monkeys, seagulls, puffins and any other unfortunate wildlife who happen to be discovered by the paparazzi. She is currently turning several of those creatures into characters for future works…coming soon!
Her first book, Geckos in the Garden (2023, Friesen Press) is the recipient of a 2023 Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Award, won Best Illustration in Children's Fiction and Children's Picture Book awards at the 2023 Global eBook awards, took 2nd Place in the Animals/Pet category at the 2023 Purple Dragonfly Awards with three additional Honourable Mentions at those awards, and has been longlisted for the Chanticleer 2023 Little Peeps Awards for Early Readers and Picture Books (to be announced in spring 2024).
Ruth lives in Barbados with her husband, David, who she met while she was living in the Arctic and he was living in Vancouver. Though they don’t currently have any pets, Ruth has named every bird at the birdfeeder—and, of course, several geckos! Her favourite gecko is Stumpy, who likes to live dangerously and is often seen regrowing his tail. (There may be more than one Stumpy, it’s rather hard to tell the geckos apart when they are vanishing at high speed!)
In addition to reading, Ruth loves to draw, paint, write stories, hike and swim. She also loves to hunt for and photograph snails, slugs, ants, millipedes, monkeys, seagulls, puffins and any other unfortunate wildlife who happen to be discovered by the paparazzi. She is currently turning several of those creatures into characters for future works…coming soon!
Her first book, Geckos in the Garden (2023, Friesen Press) is the recipient of a 2023 Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Award, won Best Illustration in Children's Fiction and Children's Picture Book awards at the 2023 Global eBook awards, took 2nd Place in the Animals/Pet category at the 2023 Purple Dragonfly Awards with three additional Honourable Mentions at those awards, and has been longlisted for the Chanticleer 2023 Little Peeps Awards for Early Readers and Picture Books (to be announced in spring 2024).
Ruth lives in Barbados with her husband, David, who she met while she was living in the Arctic and he was living in Vancouver. Though they don’t currently have any pets, Ruth has named every bird at the birdfeeder—and, of course, several geckos! Her favourite gecko is Stumpy, who likes to live dangerously and is often seen regrowing his tail. (There may be more than one Stumpy, it’s rather hard to tell the geckos apart when they are vanishing at high speed!)
