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See if you can answer this two-part word quiz: Which word originated in South Asia: picture, teacher, jungle or chocolate? Which word originated in South Africa: snack, shack, trek, or steak? (Answers below.) I thought of these questions to kick off a recent workshop. It was part

Tell me quickly the more agreeable topic: children’s books or presidential elections? This month, I am thrilled to appear on the cover of Story Monsters Ink, a digital children’s literature publication distributed to schools and libraries across the country. The cover (above) contains zippy insect drawings by

Choosing just the right names for your story’s characters sounds like it would be easy enough. Usually, though, it isn’t, at least not for me. In an interview for the National Association for Music Education, the columnist/ editor Tom Amoriello questioned me about that exact challenge. To

Here’s a true story to lift the spirits of anyone devoted to nurturing young people. We cannot foretell exactly how, but the activities you present to children today may leave a positive impact for 50 years! Recently, Debbie Clark Anders, front row, fourth from left, posted on

This summer, I was honored to be interviewed for the National Association for Music Education. The editor, Tom Amoriello, a guitarist and educator, described himself as a longstanding fan of the Jazz Fly books. So he chose that focus for his “Yay, Storytime!” column. He asked lots

Since spring, with schools closed due to the new Coronavirus, teachers and librarians have taken to story time by remote. And my in-box has been filled with requests from around the country for permission to read my books, including The Jazz Fly musical books, online. Thank you,

Since school closures began due to the Covid pandemic, I’ve received scores of emails from teachers asking permission to share my books with their home bound students. (Music teacher Jen Meyer of Iowa was the first to contact me with this timely idea, but thank you, EVERYONE,

Greetings Teachers, Librarians and Administrators, As schools gear up for another fall semester, there are still some days left to walk around in sandals, enjoy chilled watermelon, and daydream about how to make this year a great one for students. (As an author/speaker, I think about that