David Gifaldi is a Portland writer and teacher. His eight published books for young readers include picture books, a tall tale, middle-grade novels, and a collection of young adult short stories. His newest novel, Listening for Crickets, is published by Holt. David's short stories have appeared in Cricket, Highlights for Children, Read, 'Teen, Children's Digest, and Jack and Jill magazines. He has lectured widely to both children and adult writers. He currently teaches English for the Vancouver School District and is on the faculty of the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College.