When Kris is not in the studio you can find her walking near a big beautiful lake in Michigan or riding her bike around Detroit. She loves a good read, a yummy snack, and hanging out with her extra-large family.

 

The natural world is the place where Kris feels most herself. As a child she looked forward to summer when she would spend weeks canoeing and camping in the Canadian wilderness. The love of the outdoors was passed on to her family as they camped and backpacked in Montana, the Sierras, and coastal California.

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Kris loves to draw with pencil and watercolor but also feels right at home with digital media. She likes to convey emotion through the use of rhythmic line and nuanced color.

 

Picture books and mid-grade stories about family, historical non-fiction, and especially the exploration, freedom, and love of being outside are among her favorite things to illustrate.

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Kris illustrated Granny Smith was Not an Apple, 2023, the Heather Whirl Weather Girl books, 2023/24, Bible Gems to Remember, 2019, Catch a Kiss, 2016, The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee, 2016, Lizzie and the Last Day of School, 2015 and she wrote Hush-a-Bye Counting, 2008.

 

She has illustrated and written poems for Ladybug, Spider, and Cricket Magazines. Her poems have appeared in My America, A Poetry Atlas of the United States and other anthologies.