About the author ...

Kim Long is a writer, illustrator, and photographer based in Denver, Colorado. He has written dozens of nonfiction books, including titles on the history of political protest, birds, the moon, astronaut training, travel, trout fishing, educational destinations, a guide to writing bulleted lists, and others, as well as dozens of calendars, including The Moon Calendar, published annually since 1981 (The Experiment Publishing). He was also the editor of The Weather Calendar (Accord Publishing), wrote a nationally syndicated column on consumer trends, and recently co-authored a book titled How to Make Tea (Abrams). None of these have anything to do with squirrels.

Beginning in 1984, he wrote twenty annual editions of The American Forecaster Almanac, covering consumer and business trends, with more than one item about growing public interest in bird watching and public interest in wildlife. The latter led to several books, including the first edition of Squirrels: A Wildlife Handbook.

He grew up in the Midwest, with a strong connection to his father's family and its farming heritage. In the photo on the right, he is standing next to his grandmother and her favorite hoe; paying a visit while passing nearby on a media tour in the 1990s. College and work experience were ineffective at diminishing his wide-ranging and eclectic interests, as evidenced in the writing and publishing ventures that ended up as a career. Squirrels II is among the latest deviations.

In 1995, he launched a nature series with the first edition of Squirrels: A Wildlife Handbook. Series titles: Wolves, Beavers, Hummingbirds, Frogs, Owls, and Prairie Dogs. The titles in this series, including Squirrels (first edition), are no longer in print but are still found in many libraries, used book stores, and copies are frequently posted for sale online. The original publisher, Johnson Books (Boulder, Colorado), no longer exists, but the ghost of their efforts and support is still fleetingly visible in Squirrels: A Wildlife Handbook, Second Edition.