She was inspired to use the magic of children's literature to spark her students' curiosity about the wonders of water. She vowed to ``turn a drop of rain into a drop of life, astounding children by its eternity." Her sprightly verse elicits a ``water-wow!" in A Drop Around the World, her first book. She is also the author of Pass the Energy Please!, a wonderful exploration of nature's food chain, written in rhyming verse. From Manchester, Connecticut, McKinney draws on her experience as a mother, musician, and curriculum developer to promote quality education through workshops for teachers.