Derick Wilder
Derick Wilder has been writing for as long as he can remember … journaling vacations, penning poetic birthday cards, and scribbling silly stories. His high school counselor recommended he pursue poetry in college so, naturally, he studied computer science and statistics. That led to a career in technology, where his writing was mostly limited to emails, business requirements, and technical specs.
Fortunately, he had a baby girl, and promised her they would make reading together a top priority. Over endless hours in the children’s section of the library, Derick fell in love with picture books. Once hooked, he began scribbling silly stories again, this time for an audience of one.
Over the years, both his daughter and his love of books grew. He founded Reading Giraffe, a literacy initiative with the goal of creating lifelong readers by making books come alive. And while he wrote articles for magazines and a newspaper, his passion remained with children’s literature.
Derick lives in Fort Mill, SC, where his daughter still requests his stories on most nights. They share their home with Kaya, a Siberian husky, Sammy, a ball python, and stacks of picture books. You can find him online at www.derickwilder.com.