Kate Coombs’s Followers (52)

Kate Coombs

Born

Spokane, The United States

Website

http://www.katecoombs.com/

Twitter

KateCoombs13

Genre

Children's Books

edit data

I was born in Spokane, Washington, but I spent most of my childhood in Camarillo, California, which is about an hour's drive north of Los Angeles. Whenever possible as a child, I read books—books, books, and more books. The rest of the time I rode my bike with my sister, Loni, or looked after my little brother and sister. Sometimes we went to the movies at an old theater we called "The Sticky Theater" because there was always soda spilled on the floor. I was already a fan of fairy tales and comedy, so it shouldn't surprise you to hear that my favorite movie when I was a child was Snow White and the Three Stooges.

I began writing stories, poems, and plays in grade school. For the plays, I would write myself parts like The Glorious Queen and m I was born in Spokane, Washington, but I spent most of my childhood in Camarillo, California, which is about an hour's drive north of Los Angeles. Whenever possible as a child, I read books—books, books, and more books. The rest of the time I rode my bike with my sister, Loni, or looked after my little brother and sister. Sometimes we went to the movies at an old theater we called "The Sticky Theater" because there was always soda spilled on the floor. I was already a fan of fairy tales and comedy, so it shouldn't surprise you to hear that my favorite movie when I was a child was Snow White and the Three Stooges.

I began writing stories, poems, and plays in grade school. For the plays, I would write myself parts like The Glorious Queen and my sister parts like The Quiet Servant Girl. She was a pretty good sport about it!

When I was a teenager, I played bells in the marching band and oboe in the concert band. For a while I wanted to be a concert oboist. I even learned to cut and tie my own double reeds, a tricky task. Next I dreamed of becoming an artist. But once I got to college and started studying art, my first love—books—came back and grabbed me, so I ended up majoring in English. I eventually worked as a college writing teacher, an editor of coffee table books and technical manuals, and a grade school teacher. I later worked as a home teacher, driving around Los Angeles to teach seriously ill students. I've been teaching on and off for years, instructing students in every single grade from K-13, kindergarten to college!

While I was teaching, I was also writing stories in my free time. I wrote a lot of stories, which gave me practice and helped me become a better writer. After a while I started sending my stories to publishers, asking to have them made into books for kids. It took a long time, but eventually my dreams came true—now I'm a published writer!

Six Fun Facts
My dad used to call me Kate the Great.
I was once attacked by a monkey.
When I see a dry leaf on the sidewalk, I go out of my way to step on it and hear the crunch.
I have six brothers and sisters. We're all adopted and from four different ethnic backgrounds.
I can flicker my nostrils really well.
My favorite color is the blue-green at the top of an ocean wave when it catches the light just before it falls.
...more

Combine Editions
Kate Coombs’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 6,228 ratings · 967 reviews · 35 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Runaway Princess (The Runaway Princess, #1) 3.87 avg rating — 2,565 ratings — published 2006 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems 4.01 avg rating — 626 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Runaway Dragon (The Runaway Princess, #2) 3.95 avg rating — 433 ratings — published 2009 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tooth Fairy Wars by Kate Coombs, Jake Parker (Illustrator) 3.69 avg rating — 419 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goodnight Mr. Darcy: A BabyLit® Parody Picture Book by Kate Coombs, Alli Arnold (Visual Art) 3.99 avg rating — 378 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems by Kate Coombs, Anna Laitinen (Illustrator) 4.26 avg rating — 275 ratings — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hans My Hedgehog: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm by Kate Coombs (Adapter), Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm 3.34 avg rating — 265 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Secret-Keeper by Kate Coombs, Heather M. Solomon (Illustrator) 3.99 avg rating — 166 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Little Naturalists: The Adventures of John Muir by Kate Coombs, Seth Lucas (Artist) 3.67 avg rating — 98 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Monster School by Kate Coombs, Lee Gatlin (Illustrator) 3.47 avg rating — 102 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Kate Coombs…

Series by Kate Coombs

Runaway Princess (2 books)
by

Kate Coombs

3.88 avg rating — 2,998 ratings

Quotes by Kate Coombs (?)

“What are you going to do now?' She faced him.
What I've always wanted. I'm leaving this stupid kingdom to make my fortune, like a prince in one of the tales.'
They're not true you know,' Cam said quietly. Meg stared at him for a long, grim moment.
Yes they are,' she hissed....
Cam spoke in the sudden silence. 'Look, Meg. I'm not saying princes don't have adventures. But I'll bet a lot of them get eaten by the first dragon they com to.”
― Kate Coombs, The Runaway Princess

7 likes

“Stories matter in an enchanted forest.”
― Kate Coombs, The Runaway Dragon

tags: enchanted-forest, enchantment, forest, magic, stories

4 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Nothing But Readi...: Level 2 of the Serious Readers Challenge for 2012	196	365	Jan 19, 2013 09:33AM
Nothing But Readi...: Ashley's Reading Challenges	165	213	Jan 07, 2019 05:11PM
Nothing But Readi...: Translation Tango	27	487	Jun 21, 2019 11:48AM
Bookworm Bitches : 2021: BB's Literary Scavenger Hunt	39	161	Aug 16, 2021 10:15PM
WACKY READING CHA...: Historical Landmarks of Australia	52	42	Dec 27, 2023 08:43PM
One Million Pages...: Lindy-Lane's MILL	212	282	Jul 01, 2025 02:26PM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Kate to Goodreads.

Kate Coombs’s Followers (52)

Kate Coombs

Combine EditionsKate Coombs’s books

Series by Kate Coombs

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Kate Coombs’s books