Joan Axelrod-Contrada writes both fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. The author of over twenty books for young people, she is also a journalist, writing teacher and graduate of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Growing up in the Boston area, Joan watched TV meteorologists every night, and she credits them with cultivating her love of the weather and inspiring the characters of Freeze Jones and Zeke the Weather Geek. Joan lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.