My Story

Hello there!

This is me...when I was in 2nd Grade.

As a kid, I loved playing soccer and tennis with my friends. I also loved reading anything I could get my hands on, especially books on dinosaurs. I wanted to become a paleontologist! I was super excited when my dad got me my first chapter book called “The Enormous Egg,” by Oliver Butterworth, which happened to feature a triceratops! I still have it to this day and remember putting my signature on it!

I put my signature inside the book as a kid.

This book is called, The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth and was given to me by my dad.

As a grownup, I may not have become a paleontologist, but my love for books surely has not faded. On the contrary, it became part of my life as a teacher and as a children's book author.

I was born in Seoul, Korea to an American dad and a German mom, and grew up in the coastal town of Carmel, California. So I would consider myself a "Third Culture Kid" - a fancy way of saying I grew up bouncing between cultures, languages, and lots of airports.

For the past 30+ years I have been teaching elementary grades in international schools all around the globe. One could say that international living seems to be in my DNA!

Getting to know families and making friends all over the world enriched my life and those of my family. That exposure to different cultures and ways of life stuck with me, and it’s something my wife and I have tried to pass on to our two daughters (along with a love for adventure and good food!).

It has been quite a journey, and as a teacher, I believe that's what learning should be: full of curiosity and joy.

Yours, R.G.