Linda Ward

I am a retired elementary school teacher who has been married to my best friend and husband since 1982. We have three grown children, their spouses and our grandchildren that live throughout the state of Texas. My passion as a teacher was teaching students to read. My first book, "Jesus in the Manger" was published in 2017. As a teacher in Texas, one of my favorite themes to teach was Texas History and explore the many environments, landscapes, wildlife and vegetations of this vast state. It was in part the inspiration for my latest book, "I Spy With My Boxer Eye." Children love "I Spy" games and with that in mind I wrote this latest book with our Boxer dog, Ginger, using her senses and playful poetry to explore and discover the many regions we have traveled throughout the state of Texas.

As a girl growing up in the mountains and southwestern deserts of West Texas, I was always interested in the rock formations, and beauty of the changing landscapes as we traveled out of our area. My love of the outdoors led me to get my first degree in Geology from UTPB in Odessa, Texas. I worked as a geologist for just a few years before we started our family. While my children were beginning their education, I found I had an intense interest in education, and I returned to school to get my Masters in Education and embarked on my 23 years as an elementary school teacher.

While moving our children from place to place for colleges, marriages and now our retirement, we have truly been all over the state. We have had various pets throughout our marriage and raising children, but Ginger has been the only pet that has been able to know all our kids, their spouses and now our grandchildren; and she loves them like they were her own. The book has extraordinary and beautifully accurate illustrations that will allow the readers to "spy" so many features on each page, besides the curious boxer! My hobbies include Bible Studies, cooking, gardening and being "Nana" to my precious grandkids and fur babies.