Creator · Author · Illustrator

Maxine Moody Poston

The story behind Gert, in Maxine’s own words.

Professional Biography

A joyful learning journey inspired by children and the coast

Maxine Moody Poston is an author, illustrator, and creator of the Gert the SEE Turtle children’s book series. With deep South Carolina roots and a lifelong interest in learning, creativity, and the natural world, she created Gert in 1991 as a playful way to help young children develop foundational learning skills.

Inspired by her own children, Maxine designed Gert’s adventures to introduce concepts such as counting, colors, emotions, observation, and curiosity about the world around us. The name “Gert” reflects the educational purpose at the heart of the series: General Education with Respect to Turtles .

Through imaginative storytelling and original illustrations, Maxine encourages children to explore, notice, question, and learn from their surroundings. Her work reflects a simple idea that has guided the Gert the SEE Turtle series from the beginning: learning should be joyful, engaging, and part of everyday life.

Photo Gallery

Moments from Maxine’s author journey

Maxine Moody Poston author portrait with Gert the SEE Turtle artwork

From the Author

In my own words

Though I grew up an army brat, I lived a large part of my childhood in my father’s hometown of Lake City, SC, while he did tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam. I married my high school sweetheart, Hal, on July 4, 1976. We have 3 grown children: Elizabeth, Eric, and Lane. My husband and I now reside in Flat Rock, NC. In 1991, when my sons were 1 and 4, I created the “Gert the SEE Turtle” books to help my sons learn to read, count numbers, know their colors, understand emotions, etc. My then twelve-year-old daughter was the inspiration for Gert (an acronym for General Education with Respect to Turtles).

Gert wants to encourage children to enjoy observing and learning about their world every day. After all, Gert’s first love is learning and she wants all young people to want, and be able, to learn as much as she does.

The Gert the SEE Turtle Series