Explains the wisdom of an old man's statement that people are like lollipops.
When Annie Fox's first book "People Are Like Lollipops" (1971, Holiday House) was published, she wasn't old enough to legally sign the contract! By the time she turned 21, though, she decided that helping kids was going to be her life's work. After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies then completing her Master's in Education, computers changed her life as she began to explore ways in which technology could be used to empower kids.
In 1977, Annie and her husband David opened Marin Computer Center, the world's first public access microcomputer facility. Her work there led her to write her best selling book, "Armchair BASIC: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microcomputers and Programming in BASIC" (1983, Osborn/McGraw-Hill). After a detour into the world of screen writing, Annie returned to computers as an award-winning writer/designer of children's CD ROMs. (Putt-Putt; Madeline; Get Ready for School, Charlie Brown; and Mr. Potato Head Saves Veggie Valley are just a few of the titles on which she has worked.)
In 1996 Annie dreamed up the idea for The InSite (TheInSite.org), a place "for teens and young adults to turn their world around." She served as creator, designer, writer, and executive producer of that award-winning site. One of The InSite's most popular features was Hey Terra, a Cyberspace Dear Abby. Her book "The Teen Survival Guide to Dating & Relating: Real World Advice About Guys, Girls, Growing Up And Getting Along" (2000, 2005 Free Spirit Publishing) is based on hundreds of emails to Terra and Annie's responses to them. "Teen Survival Guide" is now available as a free PDF download from TeenSurvivalGuide.com.
Her other books include: "Too Stressed to Think? A Teen Guide to Staying Sane When Life Makes You CRAZY," co-authored with Ruth Kirschner (2005, Free Spirit Publishing) and the popular Middle School Confidential™ series (2008, 2009, 2010 Free Spirit Publishing). Always looking for new ways to use technology to reach tweens and teens, in April 2010 Annie launched Cruel's Not Cool! (CruelsNotCool.com) an anti-bullying Facebook forum. In April 2011 Annie's first app "Be Confident in Who You Are" (developed by Electric Eggplant and based on on Book 1 of the Middle School Confidential series) was released for iPad (see MiddleSchoolConfidential.com).
Through her public events for kids, tweens, teens, parents, and educators, Annie continues working toward her goal of empowering young people through increased self-awareness, emotional intelligence skills and stress-reduction strategies.
When not answering teen email, Annie enjoys yoga, meditation, baking, gardening, photography, hiking, traveling, and, most of all, being with David and the rest of the family.
Visit Annie at her website, AnnieFox.com
Follow Annie on Twitter: @Annie_Fox
Follow Annie on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Annie.Fox.author
