Ruth Heller never intended to become a writer. But a strange shape floating in a tank at Steinhart Aquarium changed her life. "I became intrigued," she said, "and found that it was the egg sac of a dogfish shark." She began to read extensively about other egg-laying (oviparous) animals. Visions of colors and shapes soon filled her head, and she decided to write and illustrate a book, Chickens Aren't The Only Ones, which was published in 1981.

It was so successful that the sequel, and second book to be published, Animals Born Alive And Well(1982), about mammals, quickly followed. In 1983 and 1984, her third and fourth titles,The Reason For A Flower (about plants that have seeds and flowers) and Plants That Never Ever Bloom(about plants that do not) were published.

She then began work on a collection of six books, the How To Hide series on camouflage and the magic of this phenomenon in nature, which covered the entire animal kingdom:insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and sea creatures.

The next collection of books became a five-volume series on parts of speech: A Cache Of Jewels And Other Collectve Nouns; Kites Sail High: Book About Verbs; Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives; Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns; Up, Up And Away: A Book About Adverbs. Her most recent entry in this series is Fantastic! Wow! And Unreal!: A Book About Exclamations.

She also wrote and illustrated the unique and fascinating book Color,a charming and instructive guide to how art goes through the four color printing process.

Among the notable people who have had an influence on Heller's writing have been: Ogden Nash, Gilbert and Sullivan, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, and Dr.Seuss.

"I find writing in rhyme enjoyable and think it is an easy way for the reader or listener to remember new facts and vocabulary," Heller said. "I try to be succinct, to decide what it is I wish to say, to say it simply and directly allowing the illustration to convey as much information as possible. I am delighted to find that my books appeal to teachers and librarians as well as to the public."

Heller, who earned a fine arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and completed two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, thrives on the creative process. "There is never a lack of ideas. As I am working on one project, ideas for others keep arising. Creativity begets creativity."