When Jean Patrick was in second grade, she had two dreams: to play major league baseball for the Chicago Cubs and to write books for kids. Although she's still working on the first goal, she has written several books for young people, including The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth and Long-Armed Ludie. A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program, Jean lives near Mitchell, South Dakota, where she continues to write nonfiction and fiction about protagonists who achieve the impossible.