There's No Ham in Hamburgers

When I was a kid, I drove my parents crazy asking questions. To make their lives easier, they sent me to the library. (This was before the internet.) I read a lot of books. I especially liked to read about animals, nature, history, sports, and mysterious things like ghosts, magic, and UFOs. The more I read, the more I wondered about the world around us.

A few years ago, I was walking my dog when I wondered why hamburgers are called hamburgers if there is no ham in them. That got me thinking about how people made ice cream before they could make ice and why hot dogs are called hot dogs. I looked on the internet and found so many stories, that it was hard to tell which ones were true. So, I went to the library and did more research. After many, many trips to the library, and a lot of time on the internet, I wrote There’s No Ham in Hamburgers: Facts and Folklore About Our Favorite Foods. This isn’t the first time I’ve written things. I’ve been a freelance writer for years, but this was my first book for kids. The other stuff I wrote was for magazines, newspapers, and websites and you can see some examples of that at www.kimzachman.com.

Besides researching, reading, and writing, I like to play tennis. I live in the Atlanta area with my husband and our almost perfect dog. Sometimes our two daughters come home from college and live with us too.

Fun Facts and Folklore about Me:

• Of the eleven foods featured in There’s No Ham in Hamburgers, my favorite is chocolate.
• I would rather ride in a hot air balloon than a submarine.
• I like spring better than autumn and summer better than winter.
• Even though I was generally a good student in school, math was hard for me.
• I grew up in a small town in Tennessee. It didn’t have department stores, movie theaters, skating rinks, or a McDonalds. But it did have a library, so I was okay.
• I really, really, really hate worms, but I think spiders are cool.
• When I was a kid, I wanted to be a biologist … or an Olympic volleyball player. Neither one happened, but I’m glad I’m a writer because I get to write about whatever interests me.