Author Steve Swinburne Entertains at Birch Grove

Children's author Steve Swinburne stopped by on Tuesday to not only entertain students, but to teach them about the importance of wildlife and to pass on his writing tips.

The young students loved his sing-song catchphrases and animated story telling as he advised them on how to find inspiration for their writing.

"You've got to have your eyes open and your ears on," Swinburne said. "You write about what you experience in your life."

Swinburne, who previously worked as a National Parks service ranger, told the students that many of his books such as "Black Bear: North America's Bear" and "Turtle Tide: The Ways of Sea Turtles," were inspired directly from his real-life experiences studying or saving animals. 

Swinburne brought nature to the kids, showing pictures from his travels and playing a recording he took of baby black bears that he created when he and a friend were studying a mother and her cubs.

For Swinburne, it wasn't a difficult transition into writing children's books.

"I was a naturalist. It was very easy to get right back into writing books about nature and wildlife," he said.

Swinburne gives presentations on wildlife and writing to schools all over the country. For more information on the author and his books, check out his Web site.