My Children's Writing

 Anger bursts in without knocking and leaps onto your shoulders. Anger makes your face flush and your heart beat hard. Your little sister has broken your favorite Ninja. Going one on one in a basketball game against Anger, you learn you don’t have to let anger win. 

Did you know your body is like a castle?  Medieval castles protected kings and queens from foreign invaders. In the same way, your body shields you against diseases. This is called your immune system.

Sally is white, but she learns the importance of Black Lives Matter after a classmate taunts her black friend Tess. At a march, she lifts her sign high, and shouts, “Black Lives Matter!”

Climate change is a matter of life or death for Selina Neirok Leem. Rising sea levels threaten to make her home in the Marshall Islands uninhabitable. As a teenager, she begins to speak out. 

Shop Cat is a touching story about a lonely cat who lives in a pet store. A little girl sees him in the shop window and becomes his friend. But then she stops coming. One cold night, a man comes and takes him away. Where is he going? 

Red wants to make friends with the puppy in the mirror, but he’s frustrated when his reflection is perfectly quiet and won't chase him. Finally, Red learns some friends are different, but he can still find ways to connect.

 Latilda has found the perfect nursery for her new kittens but convincing her owner Miss May might take some work. 

 Andy wants to play with his mom, but she’s too busy. As he follows her from washing dishes to doing laundry to vacuuming the stairs, he learns he can find fun in the most unlikely places.

Jackson loves to take off his clothes. He does it everywhere until he learns there’s a time and place for disrobing.

Jacob is done with sleep. Sleeping is boring. Mommy assures him everybody sleeps. Before the night is over, Jacob will learn a lot about how animals sleep. And he’ll learn something about himself too. 

Nadine loves fairy tales, but she falls asleep and has the wildest dream. The fairy tale characters she meets aren’t living happily ever after. In fact, they are miserable. She and a kind witch help the fairy tale characters find happily ever after. 

On a muggy morning in early spring, thousands of flamingos begin a dance. The males form a tight group and march left. Abruptly, they switch direction and march right. "Cak-cak," they call; "eep-eep," the females answer." They choose partners and the life cycle begins.

Bill Cunningham was known as the father of street fashion. A bony, thin man he rode a bicycle around Manhattan, photographing ordinary people with a sense of style. When he died, artists from around the world paid tribute to him on Instagram and the city of New York mourned. 

Madeline is confused after she finds her parents’ old love letters. Then she’s jealous. When her parents find her, she has lots of questions. 

 “A Flower in the Subway” is an unusual, poignant picture book story of the friendship that grows between a lonely subway rat and a mysterious girl. In a surprising, O. Henry-like ending, this lyrical story turns out to be a ghost story, albeit a happy one.  

At bedtime, a girl listens to the sounds outside her window. Vroom, vroom. A car goes rumbling by. Croak, croak. Ribbit, ribbit. Hoot, hoot. More and more animals join the nighttime lullaby. Finally, her cat snuggles against her, and she falls asleep.

Michael decides he will give money to a street beggar, even though it will mean waiting longer to buy a video game. He volunteers at a soup kitchen and sees the beggar he helped.  

Lulu is a cuckoo who lives in a clock but dreams of flying free like a real bird. She has a Jonah-and-the-Whale type adventure and learns where she really belongs.    

Emily lives in Manhattan. She is sad because the apartment is too small for a cat, but Emily meets cats in shops when she goes on errands with her mother every day. By the end of the week, Emily figures out a solution to her problem.   

“Michael’s Dream” is a story within a story within a story. None of the characters are what they seem. The story’s narrative goes inside many layers and then comes back out.  

“From a Silent Seed” is a lyrical story that teaches children that it is OK to be quiet. It gives several examples of very successful people who were shy children.  

 When strict Mama Witch goes shopping, it is the perfect chance for Hildegarde to make some magic. But after she turns herself into a ball, the black house cat Xandra won’t stop playing with her. Will she be able to remember the counterspell before her mama gets home?  

 Meg and Sue are twins. They enjoy being twins, but they get tired of always being confused for one another. How will they get people to see them as two unique girls? “Meg and Sue Are Twins” is a rhyming picture book.

Chester Vole and Mr. Porcupine are neighbors. Chester Vole is a happy-go-lucky vole, but Mr. Porcupine is as prickly as his quills. How can Chester Vole make Mr. Porcupine a good neighbor?  

Nicholas McTickolas McPhee has such strange eating habits, he drives everyone crazy. His mom, his dad, and his brother try to get him to change. Will he ever learn to be a less picky eater?  This is a rhyming picture book.

Kaylee goes on a magical journey to Sockland, where all missing socks go. Will she be able to convince her favorite sock to come home with her?

Hannah keeps seeing a mysterious old lady who seems to have a way with wild animals. She wishes a pigeon would land on her arm or a squirrel would eat out of her hand. Then one day she finds the old lady at a park and she invites Hannah to feed the animals, too.

In the Kingdom of Gadgets, no one ever looks up from their Picture Boxes, Game Boxes, and Tiny Talking Boxes. Then one day, a fuse blows and all the gadgets go black. What will people do?

"A Smellavator” is an activity book that teaches youngsters about letter sounds and rhyme. It invites the reader to participate on every page.