I first dreamed of being an author in third grade, when my teacher passed out strips of construction paper and asked everyone to write what they wanted to be when they grew up. Without hesitation, I wrote "writer." All through elementary school, middle school, and high school, I wrote poetry and short stories. In college, I earned a B.A. in English Writing. However, years went by before I realized my audience. Many of my stories and poems had young protagonists. Adult publications rejected them. Then I started sending out some of the same material to children's magazines and received acceptance letters! Later, I went back to school to study library science and found the children's literature courses totally mesmerizing. As an elementary school librarian, I found a way to combine my love of reading and writing. My picture book NO ENGLISH (Mitten Press, 2007), is about a second grade girl who finds a creative way to bridge a language barrier with a new student from Argentina. It was inspired by my experiences working in a school with a diverse student body from over thirty different countries. To see a book trailer, please visit youtube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOxPslcKhhE&fmt=18
UNITE OR DIE: HOW THIRTEEN STATES BECAME A NATION (Charlesbridge, 2009) began as a skit I wrote for my students to perform on Constitution Day. A youtube.com book trailer is available at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5oQ6NTjF_M&fmt=18
DUCK FOR TURKEY DAY (Albert Whitman 2009) was inspired by immigrant students who told me they ate foods from their birth countries on Thanksgiving instead of the traditional turkey and stuffing. Book trailer at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbrvcGUkeIc
My bible series for children began with ABRAHAM'S SEARCH FOR GOD and continued with SARAH LAUGHS, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book. In March 2009, BENJAMIN AND THE SILVER GOBLET was released. A fourth book in the series, about Miriam and the miracles in the desert, is currently in the works. For more info, visit youtube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv3KNk9UB-A&fmt=18
The Ziz, the giant lovable yellow bird with dark red wings, first appeared in THE HARDEST WORD. His adventures continued with NOAH AND THE ZIZ, THE ZIZ AND THE HANUKKAH MIRACLE, and THE PRINCESS AND THE ZIZ. To see him in action, please visit him on youtube.com at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919GX5zepto&fmt=18
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