Liza is the author of fourteen books for young readers, including the recent historical novel, Where the Great Hawk Flies (Clarion), winner of the 2006 Massachusetts Book Award for Children's Literature, and the Boston Authors Club/Julia Ward Howe Prize for Young Readers. Her passions-besides reading and writing - include her volunteer work on behalf of the environment. She also enjoys gardening, canoeing, hiking, music, art, and theater. Like her husband, John Straus, she is an enthusiastic traveler. Many of her stories have their origins in places they have visited. The mother of two grown sons, Liza and her husband divide their time between the Boston area and a cabin in Vermont's Green Mountains.