Kimberly Willis Holt is an American writer of children's literature. She is best known for the novel When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, which won the 1999 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It was adapted as a 2003 film of the same name. She was born to a US Navy chief in Pensacola, Florida, but spent most of her childhood in Forest Hill, Louisiana, which inspired her first novel, My Louisiana Sky. As the child of a naval officer, Holt moved from place to place, most notably, France, Guam, and Louisiana. Her experiences as a navy brat are reflected in her Piper Reed series. She now resides in Amarillo, Texas. [More at Wikipedia]

September 9th, 1960 in Pensacola (Age 64)