Blog

A mom from the audience shares son’s reaction

I just wanted to stop by and thank you. We attended your reading at Barnes and Noble today in Redlands, Ca. My son, Aiden, absolutely loves The Jazz Fly one and two! He is a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan and as he was playing with

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Learning About the Needs of Dyslexic Kids

This past weekend, I was privileged to speak at the Inland Empire Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. My first step in preparing was to familiarize myself with the basics of dyslexia: a neurologically-based learning disability that can affect word recognition, decoding, spelling and auditory comprehension. Regina

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Using Foreign Words

One reason why I add foreign phrases to my picture books is to welcome readers into a new world or mindset, or to acknowledge the mindset they may already share. (It’s easy to forget that millions of U.S. citizens, for example, speak and dream in both English

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Summer Reading Kick-off

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of performing at the Sacramento Public Library’s kickoff to their summer reading program. Whatever children’s librarian Susan Benson does to get the word out works; she said 6,000 new people signed up for the program in the 3 days leading up

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Jazz Fly Hits the Stage in Queens, NY!

OK, so this isn’t exactly Broadway, or even Off Broadway, but in terms of sheer innocence and joy, this performance is a delight. Months ago, I got an email from teacher Helaine Witt of the Ellington School, P.S. 140 in Queens, NY. She asked if I would

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