Something About Nancy....

Nancy Cohen was inspired to write books for children during her dream career as a Children’s Librarian that spanned almost 30 years. She started out at the Nepean (now Ottawa) Public Library and then, after moving to New Brunswick, became the head of Children’s Services at the Moncton Public Library.

During her career Nancy was passionate about building an excellent collection of children’s books, and getting these books into children’s hands. One of her favourite parts of the job was storytime for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. She firmly believes that children should be read to every day from birth, and loves nothing more than seeing little faces focused in wonder at the pictures as she reads them a story. 

Nancy was born in Hamilton, Ontario and grew up in nearby Ancaster. She remembers her father reading to her at an early age from a well-worn copy of Grimm’s fairy tales.

Learning to read was a bit of a struggle, but once she cracked the code she was off. The librarians at the Ancaster Public Library told her she was one of their best customers. She loved books about animals, such as Black Beauty, the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley, as well as all the dog books by Jim Kjelgaard and Eric Knight. She also liked to write and wrote her first story at about age 9. It was about a horse named Sun Crystal. 

After graduating from Ancaster High School, Nancy continued her education at the University of Toronto where she received a BA in English and a Master of Library Science. 

After retiring Nancy and her husband Ivan left New Brunswick to be closer to their children and grandchildren. She now writes books for children at her home in Brockville, Ontario where she lives with Ivan and an adorable puggle named Winnie.