[3] When she was five years old, poor health caused her father to retire to 40 acres near the Iron River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he built a home called High Banks.

She and her brother, Leslie Paul, spent much of their time playing in the nearby river, walking country roads, and taking care of their farm animals.

[3] In 1933, wanting to live someplace that had beautiful scenery, a good library and an "invigorating climate",[6] Fisher moved with an attorney and fellow writer Olive Rabe to Boulder, Colorado.

[8] According to Fisher, "Poetry is a rhythmical piece of writing that leaves the reader feeling that life is a little richer than before, a little more full of wonder, beauty, or just plain delight."

A collection of poems about everyday things like lady bugs, tummy aches and icicles, it was illustrated by her own silhouette drawings, and became a Junior Literary Guild Selection.

More than twenty poetry collections followed, including Up the Windy Hill: A Book of Merry Verses with Silhouettes, and You Don’t Look Like Your Mother, re-released in 2001.

Her books have been illustrated by prominent artists including Eric Carle, Adrienne Adams, Symeon Shimin, and Mique Moriuchi.

I Heard a Bluebird Sing, is a posthumous collection of her poems chosen for inclusion by the votes of school children around the US, along with excerpts from interviews and articles she had written.

Fisher's poems continue to appear in anthologies and several of her collections have been re-released after her death, leading her to be included by one reviewer on a short list of "some of the luminaries in recent children's poetry".

Other award-winning natural history books include Feathered Ones and Furry, illustrated by Eric Carle, and In the Woods, In the Meadow, In the Sky.

With a child's heart and a knowing hand, she has honed simple words and ideas into small poetic gems that shine with clarity and sensitivity… This important anthology celebrates the work of one of America's beloved writers for young people.

Of Going Barefoot, a Kirkus reviewer wrote, "This rhymed text imparts a substantial amount of naturalist information in a pleasant and animated fashion.

"[21] National Council of Teachers of English complimented her "energizing American history prose against a background of place geography and basic information", and goes on to say, "Miss Fisher knows human nature.