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Audrey Wood was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her earliest memories are of the winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus in Sarasota, Florida. While her artist father repainted the large murals on the sides of the big top and side shows, Wood was being told stories by the circus performers. From the ages of 2-5, her family lived to Mexico. Her first language was Spanish and she was a voracious reader in both Spanish and English.
Wood's family has produced artists since the 15th century. She remembers spending a lot of time in her grandfather's and her fathers art studios. She had access to all of their art materials while they gently guided her. By the time she was in the first grade, she had decided to become an artist.
Her childhood home had an extensive library. She was an avid reader and particularly loved Hans Christian Andersen and book that had an edge on fantasy, like The Borrowers and The Rescuers. She also read a lot of adult novels. As the eldest of three sisters, she was the family storyteller. She remembers opening up her parents lavishly illustrated art books and making up stories about the paintings.
In the late 1960s, Wood moved to Berkeley, California to pursue her art independently. In 1969, she met Don Wood who became her husband and collaborator. At the time she was experimenting with her own art and teaching children's art part time. She was also writing stories.
The Woods and their son Bruce eventually settled in Santa Barbara, California where they still live today. Wood feels that she has matured as a writer. She has reached a point where she is at home with that mysterious place where stories come from.
Audrey and Don often work together collaboratively. They agree that a book should have a rhythm and that children's books should be a delight for both children and adults. Audrey usually comes up with the concept for a book and Don provides encouragement and feedback. Audrey has a lot of input as to how the characters in Don's illustrations will look. Don likes to work from models, so often people the Woods are close to will be represented in their books. Their son Bruce was the model for little boy in Quick as a Cricket.
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